Communications and Publications Division (CPD) of the IFCC
Editor: Tahir Pillay, MB ChB, PhD, FRCPath (Lon), FCPath (SA)
Department of Chemical Pathology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
E-mail: enews@ifcc.org

International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine

N° 3 – April 2018

In t h is issue

 Task Force on Ethics: recent survey

3 IFCC Committee on Clinical Laboratory Management (C-CLM) presentsinteractive case scenarios

4 IFCC WG-GMECC: how should glucose meters be evaluated in critical care5 The 9th Beginner´s Course in Molecular Diagnostics

6

 Artificial intelligence and big data: the next digital disruption

9

 IFCC welcomes a new affiliate member:
Egyptian Association of Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety11 Clinical Chemistry Trainee Council: Pearls of laboratory medicine

12 NEWS FROM REGIONAL FEDERATIONS AND MEMBER SOCIETIES The Tunisian Society of Clinical Biology goes all out!

13

 News from the Society of Medical Biochemists of Serbia:
The 20th annual 'Professor Ivan Berkeš' Scientific Conference14

 IFCC's Calendar of Congresses, Conferences & Events17

Task Force on Ethics: recent survey
by Ann M. Gronowski
Chair, Task Force on Ethics (2015-2017)
The IFCC Task Force on Ethics (TF-E) focuses on ethical issues in laboratory
medicine. The aims of the TF-E are:ÂÂ To increase awareness among Laboratory Medicine Professionalsof ethical issues
ÂÂ To encourage the practice of Laboratory Medicine to the highest
ethical standards
ÂÂ To develop guidance documents for member societies on ethics
related issues
ÂÂ To provide a voice for Laboratory Medicine on ethical issues
ÂÂ To link Laboratory Medicine, ethics and the public interest

Ann M. Gronowski

In January 2018, the TF-E distributed an invitation to the national representatives from 93 Full IFCC member societies and 13 affiliate societies tocomplete an on-line survey. The survey was developed to allow the TF-E tomeasure the level of interest in ethics-related issues and to develop newmaterials to help member societies.

Fifty-three responses were received. Most societies (87%) reported that their national society did not have an
ethics task force or committee. Several societies indicated that their ethics committee met only when and if
needed to deal with ethical issues if/when they arise. Other ethics committees served to create ethics-related
documents and educational materials.
Twenty-one societies reported that they had a code of ethics (or professionalism), 9 reported a conflict of interest statement for society leadership to complete, and 6 have statements outlining proper interactions withindustry. Importantly, of the societies that said they did not have any ethics-related documents, 95% said thatthey felt they would be useful.
The societies were asked if they had faced any issues that were ethical in nature. The results are shown in
Table 1.
Table 2: Ways in which the TF-E could help
member society (41 societies responded)
Table 1: Has your IFCC member nationalsociety faced any issues that were ethicalin nature? (19 societies responded)63%(12/19)37%(7/19)
32%(6/19)
5%(1/19)

Relationships with industry
Conflict of interest issues
Unprofessional conduct
Confidentiality

68%(28/41)22%(9/41)
10%(4/41)
7%(3/41)
7%(3/41)

Sharing/developing general ethics
guidelines
Sharing/developing code of ethics
Sharing/developing educational
materials
Sharing/developing industry
guideline
Help to resolve cases of ethicsrelated issues

Article continued on next page3

Twelve responded that they had ethical problems related to industry, 7 reported conflict of interest issues, 6
reported unprofessional conduct and one reported a confidentiality issue.
The survey asked for ways in which the TF-E could help member societies. The responses are shown in Table 2.
Moving forward, the TF-E plans to create a tool box with examples of documents such as the ones in Table 2.
The toolbox can be useful for member societies as examples to create their own unique documents appropriate for their society. As always the TF-E is open to suggestions and available to answer questions. Do nothesitate to contact Ann Gronowski (gronowski@wustl.edu.or) or Nilda Fink (NFink@fbpba.org.ar).

IFCC Committee on Clinical Laboratory Management (C-CLM) presentsinteractive case scenarios
Approach to common problems in the medical laboratory
within the context of clinical laboratory management toolbox
by Sedef Yenice
Chair, IFCC C-CLM
It was great to have met some of you at the IFCC WorldLab in Durban, South Africa last year at our Satellite Educational Workshop on “Intelligent Clinical Laboratory Management: Impacts on Quality System Improvement”
that was held on 22 October 2017.
We would like to continue engaging with you on the common issues we face in our daily work practices. C-CLM
strives to interact with the fellow clinical laboratory practitioners and expects to hear your solutions. We have
prepared a group of four case scenarios that we believe commonly occur in our laboratory environment andwould like to share them with you to receive your responses in how you would solve them.
The objective of this exercise is to understand your perspectives on these shared problems and your proposed solutions. They reflect the contextual factors in your particular environment. This interaction will
also assist the C-CLM to prepare a larger scope of training and collaborations in the area of clinical or medical laboratory management.
We started this interactive project on March 1, 2018, with the posting of first case/problem scenario and every
6 weeks a new problem/case will be posted to the webpage of C-CLM under the heading of Clinical Laboratory Management Toolbox.
Please click the link (http://www.ifcc.org/ifcc-education-division/emd-committees/c-clm/6-c-clm-clinical-laboratory-management-toolbox/) and go to the Clinical Laboratory Management Toolbox. There you will find thecase scenarios to be downloaded, under the subheading of “Interactive Case Scenarios - Approach to Common Problems in the Medical Laboratory”:
ÂÂ One of our C-CLM members, Prof. Aye Aye Khine Wamono, will evaluate the answers and provide feedback through the IFCC webpage within the timeline. Please submit your answers directly to Prof. Wamono
at ayeaye.khine@smu.ac.za on the dates specified in the page.
ÂÂ No individual responses will be presented. After the scheduled time of responses is completed, the consensus correct answer in association with a cumulative analysis of responses will be uploaded to the sectionof Answers.
The C-CLM looks forward to your participation and to engaging in many fruitful interactive discussions with all of you!

4

IFCC WG-GMECC: how should glucose meters be evaluated in critical careby Cynthia Bowman
Chair and Document Editor, IFCC WG-GMECC
Sean Cunningham
Member and Document Assistant Editor, IFCC WG-GMECC
European Specialist Laboratory Medicine EuSpLM
The IFCC Working Group on How should Glucose Meters be Evaluated inCritical Care (WG-GMECC), under the IFCC POCT Task Force, has completed a document on “How Should Glucose Meters Be Evaluated for Critical Care”. It addresses the clinical practice of using Blood Glucose Meters(BGM) and what requirements they must fulfill in order to be used in critically ill patients and in Professional Healthcare Settings (PHS) on patientsin various states of health and receiving intensive medical intervention andtherapy.
The document is already available on the IFCC website at http://www.ifcc.
org/ifcc-education-division/emd-committees/taskforcepoct/wg-gmecc/.
A second document addressing quality management and training andcompetency recommendations for BGM is under development.
Cynthia Bowman
Baystate Health, Department of
Pathology, Springfield, MA – USA

The WG was convened in 2014 after the US Food and Drugs Administration(FDA) issued its draft guidance on blood glucose test monitoring systems
for “prescription” use and concerns about the accuracy and risks of using
BGM for acutely ill patients were being widely raised.
The WG has been an inclusive one with 12 members, 10 corresponding
members, 3 corporate members, and 6 advisors. It has been chaired byCynthia Bowman (US) who, along with Sean Cunningham (IE), RobbertSlingerland (NL), Dieter Mesotten (BE), Brad Karon (US) and James Nichols(US), authored the document. Input from all WG participants was broadbased, open, and active, including corporate members.
Time was taken to develop agreement on core principles and recommendations from all participants and to account for the evolution of recommendations, technology and perspectives in the field of BGM. The WG
elected to cover the topic with some technical and clinical depth to allow
readers and stakeholders to have a resource on principles of the technology and clinical issues that must be considered when evaluating BGM forcritically ill and PHS patients.

Sean Cunningham
Consultant Clinical Biochemist,
Dublin, IE

The WG agreed that all users of BGM must be aware of their limiting technical and clinical factors, that evaluation and oversight of BGM must bepractical and respect resource constraints, but that there must be a single
international standard for BGM performance and evaluation in critical careand PHS settings. At the current time, the WG does not recommend using
capillary samples for BGM with critically ill or PHS patients, as described
Article continued on next page5

above. Options for monitoring glucose levels in thosepatients include using alternative instruments or usingarterial or venous samples with BGM cleared for thosesamples. However, the WG is aware that vendors andgroups have data promoting the use of capillary samples for critically ill and PHS patients. An FDA public
advisory committee meeting will receive testimony
supporting that use on March 30, 2018.
The WG is hoping that the document will stimulate
active multi-specialty discussion in many settings andwill serve to foster collaborative awareness and bestpractices between laboratory, clinical, and corporate
stakeholders for BGM. Many of the principles included in the document are general ones applying to goodlaboratory and clinical practice for POCT in general.
It is also hoped that this document and topic will bean ongoing discussion in inter-society meetings withan evolution of recommendations and practices for
current and future technologies. Using the principlesof the document could promote a good basis for ongoing partnership with laboratory, clinical, and corporate stakeholders in dealing with other laboratory
testing issues.
The WG-GMECC looks forward to your feedback andfruitful interactive discussions with you.
For any comment or request of information,please email:Cynthia Bowman at
Cynthia.BowmanMD@baystatehelth.org;
orSean Cunningham atsean.cunningham99@gmail.com.

The 9th Beginner´s Course in Molecular Diagnostics
18-24 February 2018 – Martin, Slovakia
by Evi Lianidou
Chair, IFCC C-CMBC Committee

The course participants and the tutors

Article continued on next page

6

The 9th IFCC Beginner´s Course in Molecular Biology,
organised by the C-CMBC, took place at Biomed in
Martin, Slovakia, between 18-24 February 2018.
The local supporting team consisted of the President of the Slovak Society of Clinical Biochemistry(SSKB) Prof. Oliver Rácz (Department of Physiological
Pathology, Košice), Prof. Erika Halašová (Division of
Molecular Medicine, Biomed, Martin), Prof. Dušan
Dobrota (Department of Medical Biochemistry, Martin) and the executive member of the implementation
task force Dr. Katarína Baluchová (Division of Oncology, Biomed, Martin).
THE WORKSHOP TUTORS:
The following IFCC C-CMBC committee members were
the tutors who gave all lectures and organized thepractical part of the course, assisted by the IFCC Juniormembers, namely:
1. Evi Lianidou, PhD., Professor of Analytical Chemistry – Clinical Chemistry, University of Athens,
Greece (Chair of the C-CMBC Committee)
2. Andrea Ferreira-Gonzales, PhD., Professor of Pathology and Director of Molecular Diagnostics

Laboratory, VCU, Richmond, USA (Consultantof the C-CMBC Committee)
3. Verena Haselmann, M.D., PhD., Institute of Clinical Chemistry, University Medicine Mannheim,
Medical Faculty Mannheim of the University of
Heidelberg, Germany (Member of the C-CMBC
Committee)
4. Ettore Domenico Capoluongo, PhD., Professorof Clinical Biochemistry and Clinical Biology,
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Catholic
University – Agostino Gemelli Teaching Hospital, Rome, Italy (Member of the C-CMBC Committee)
5. Zsolt Kovacs, M.D., Associate lecturer, Department of Biochemistry and Environmental Chemistry, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, TârguMureș, Romania (IFCC Junior member, selected
through the Romanian course)
THE MOLECULAR BIOLOGY COURSE:
Dr. Katarína Baluchová was selected by the SSKC as
the trainee for this course, and was trained at the Institute for Clinical Chemistry in Mannheim, Germany

L-R: Prof. Andrea Ferreira-Gonzales (USA), Dr. Verena Hasselman (Germany), Prof. Ettore Capoluongo (Italy),Dr. Zsolt Kovacs (Romania), Prof. Evi Lianidou (Greece), Dr. Katarina Baluchova (Slovakia),
Prof. Dušan Dobrota (Slovakia), Prof. Erika Halašová (Slovakia)

Article continued on next page7

to attain credentials for the course. All C-CMBC members and course participants were hosted by Jessenius
Faculty of Medicine (JFM) in Martin. The course took
place at the Division of Molecular Medicine, BioMed,
Martin and was attended by 20 participants fromeight Slovakian institutions. The participants were allocated to one of four groups, each led by one of thetutors. The practical laboratory sessions were basedon the C-CMBC manual.
The Pre-Course seminar was held by Prof. Andrea Ferreira-Gonzales and focused on basics of nucleic acidamplification. During the pre-course day, peripheral
blood samples were collected from each participant.
Consequently, DNA was isolated on day one and usedin subsequent experiments throughout the course.
Each Course day started at 9:00 am with lectures onbasic concepts of DNA isolation, DNA quantitation,
PCR, real- time PCR and on different topics comprising the field of laboratory medicine and molecular diagnostics. The workshop continued with laboratory
work, focusing on:

In-silico training on PCR assay design and RFLP assay
design were also part of the workshop. At the end of
the Course, Prof. Andrea Ferreira-Gonzales and Dr.
Verena Haselmann gave the state-of-art lectures on
Next generation sequencing and Liquid biopsy respectively.
The selection of the new IFCC C-CMBC Junior Member from the Slovakia Course was based on the evaluation of all participants by:ÂÂ Results of the final written examination
ÂÂ General performance during the laboratory
sessions
ÂÂ Personal interview with tutors
Mr. Michal Cibulka, PhD student from the Department of Medical Biochemistry, Jessenius Faculty of
Medicine in Martin was elected as the next Junior
Member of C-CMBC.
SPONSORS:

ÂÂ PCR for HPV-PCR detection, HLA B57 detection, BRAF detection, RFLP FV Leiden and RFLPLCT detection and quantitative PCR CMV testing

The “lab in a suitcase“ was completed/extended withthe help of faithful sponsors of the programme andgenerous funding from the IFCC. More specifically, thebasic equipment and reagents used in the practicalcourse were provided by Biorad, Eppendorf, and theLesser-Loewe Foundation. Roche Diagnostics Greece
provided the CMV kit and all necessary reagents used
for the the real time quantitative PCR experiment.

Peripheral Blood collection

Isolation of genomic DNA

ÂÂ Preparation of buffers and working solutions
ÂÂ Isolation of DNA from peripheral blood samples
ÂÂ DNA quality control
ÂÂ Agarose gel electrophoresis

Article continued on next page8

Sample loading on an agarose gel

Seminar room

Artificial intelligence and big data: the next digital disruption
by Bernard GougetCounselor for Public Health FHF
Chair-Human Health Care Committee on Accreditation -COFRAC
Chair-IFCC Nominations Committee (2016-2017)
General Secretary of the International Francophone Federationof Clinical Biology and Laboratory Medicine (FIFBCML)
The constantly increasing volume of data and the increase in calculation speeds have brought Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data to theforefront. These two booming and promising technologies are irreversible. The truly revolutionary potential of the two technologies resides
in the possibilities offered by their convergence. In healthcare, as inmany other fields, technological progress has caused an exponential
explosion in the volume of information collected at any time.

Bernard GougetThis is a boon for health research, for which big data is an almost inexhaustible source of new knowledge that is indispensable to innovationand medical progress.

The enormous volume of data now available raises technical challenges concerning data storage and mining
capabilities. Increasingly complex computer and statistical programs and algorithms are essential. Data mining platforms with servers and supercomputers are pooled for more operationality internationally. Examples
include the European immuno-monitoring platform managed by several biotechnology companies, including
the cancer Centre and INSERM, that aim to assist physicians with treatment decisions in oncology and infectious diseases and allow analysis of initial patient immunological status
Article continued on next page

9

Mining Big Data, which combines all socio-demographic and healthcare information, has many
benefits: identification of disease risk factors,
diagnostic assistance, choosing treatments andmonitoring their efficacy, pharmaco-vigilance, epidemiology, etc. Unfortunately, this information
is fragmented and heterogeneous. In order tomake processing and mining this complex information possible, it must be acquired in a structured manner and encoded before being integrated into databases or data warehouses. Standards
are being developed, such as I2B2 (Informatics for
Integrating Biology and the Bedside), developedin Boston. Thanks to these standards, hospitals
and health centres will be better armed to compile all the data collected (pharmacy, laboratory
medicine, imaging, genomics, health economics,
clinical practice, etc.) in biomedical data warehouses that can be queried by researchers via web
interfaces. Many research teams work on integrated platforms, to match databases and aggregate
their data with those of cohorts.

to exploit on the basis of “omics.” This field promises a paradigm shift and significant advances where
symptoms will no longer be the main guide for diagnosis, but rather patients will be treated according
to their own genome, epigenome or metabolome.
Extracting information from textual medical reports
for the secondary use of healthcare data and assistance with mining knowledge published in the scientific literature will be part of the possibilities offeredby AI. These data offer phenomenal raw material
that complement the algorithms for AI in healthcare
for a better approach to databases.

If we want to set in motion the development of a
medicine that works as early as possible, population
studies are necessary. We can hope that researchers will soon be able to access gigantic biological
databases to tap them, initiate research, and create
hypotheses to construct a new medical paradigm
based on early screening and targeted therapies. A
futurist fantasy? Finland has already embarked on
this path.

It is also essential to train the medical biologists
right now in function of the digital world in which
they will practice. The technologies have an increasingly important place alongside medical diagnosis and the clinic. Digital teaching must be
integrated by the medical universities using transversality of expertises. Simulation using interactive
digital means must also be more widely deployed inboth initial and continuing training. A reflection has
to be undertaken quickly on the foreseeable evolution of the professional exercise in Lab Medicine
because of the tasks that could be accomplished byintelligent systems.

Big Data and Artificial Intelligence are two inextricably linked technologies, to the point that we talkabout Big Data Intelligence since nearly every fieldof AI is concerned with applications in the healthcare field: from the representation of knowledge andthe modeling of reasoning to robotics, and including
statistical learning and the automatic processing of
natural language. The expected benefits include: diagnostic assistance, in particular in difficult cases,
assistance with writing medical reports, assistancewith medical procedure coding, or even assistancewith publishing research results by helping to write
them. 5P medicine (preventative, personalized, precise, participatory, and predictive) is one of the fields

One of the lines for development of AI relies on acceptability, especially by clinicians, researchers andbiologists, as well as patients, institutions and businesses. One of the major lines concerns the deployment of models and algorithms built to preserve privacy and confidentiality. Ethics and use must also betaken into consideration to facilitate acceptability.
In addition, the clinical benefit of AI systems must
be proven, and cybersecurity questions must be addressed.

Machines will not routinely replace healthcare providers; rather they will provide support to them.
This is indispensable for communicating results anddiagnosis. AI will considerably evolve and transformprofessions, refocusing them on intervention andleaving diagnosis to machines. All these challenges
are intimidating. They can lead to suspicion aroundthis convergence of AI and Big Data. It is importantto remember that technologies are only disruptive
when we are poorly prepared.

10

IFCC welcomes a new affiliate member
Egyptian Association of Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety

DESCRIPTION
The Egyptian Association of Healthcare Quality
and Patient Safety is an official association under
the supervision of a medical research institute –Alexandria University. The society gathers a groupof specialists in the field of healthcare quality andlaboratory medicine.
MISSION
The mission of this society is to spread the quality culture and contribute to the improvement ofhealthcare outcomes by offering training and consultation for healthcare providers according to international standards.
OBJECTIVES
1. To improve the quality culture for healthcare
providers by:ÂÂ Continuing basic and advanced training programmes in different healthcare activities.
ÂÂ Providing newsletters for all updated scientific information in healthcare quality and patient
safety.
ÂÂ Arranging scientific events aiming to communicate all new updates in healthcare and laboratory quality as well as patient safety.

2. To ensure a network of qualified practitioners andproviders providing exchange experience
3. To support quality improvement in laboratory
medicine.
4. To collaborate with national and internationalorganizations to improve the future of laboratory
medicine.
The board formulation:
The board is formed from eleven university members
from the medical research Institute and Faculty of
Medicine as well as medical laboratory pioneers.
The association members:
The association has around 30 core members as well
as 300 functional members. All the members are professionals in the field of healthcare quality and laboratory medicine with a special division for the students to ensure that all segments are represented.
Activities:
The Egyptian association for healthcare quality andpatient safety organized more that 30 events in collaboration with governmental and nongovernmental organizations focusing on the latest updates in
the field.

11

Clinical Chemistry Trainee Council: Pearls of laboratory medicine
by Nader Rifai
Founder of CCTC programme
Ann Gronowski
Co-Chair, CCTC programme
Clinical Chemistry Trainee Council (CCTC) is a freemulti-lingual online educational program for laboratory medicine trainees and their mentors (www.
traineecouncil.org). This program is an initiative of
the journal Clinical Chemistry. Over 11,500 registrants from 156 countries currently use this program, approximately 40% are from emerging anddeveloping countries.
The CCTC website contains a variety of educational
materials including Pearls of Laboratory Medicine.
Pearls are 10-15 min lectures about an analyte
or diagnosis spanning all disciplines of laboratory
medicine including clinical chemistry, hematology& coagulation, microbiology, immunology, transfusion medicine, and molecular diagnostics. In addition, there are lectures related to laboratory management. Each presentation is curriculum-based
and peer-reviewed.

soliciting, handling the review process and editing
each Pearl. Currently, 156 Pearls have been posted
with a goal of completing 300 by the end of 2019.
See Table 1 for the breakdown of number of Pearls
in the various disciplines.
39 Pearls have been translated to Spanish and 15 toJapanese; all are available on the CCTC website. This
series have been downloaded ~75,000 times and the
top 5 downloaded Pearls are listed in Table 2.
One particularly useful feature of the Pearls, to those
whose native language is not English, is the fact thata transcript of the presentation is also provided thus
enabling the user to listen to and read the materials
at the same time. Such an exercise, in and by itself, isbeneficial to improve one’s scientific English language
proficiency. The Pearls can be accessed either fromyour computer or your mobile device.

A group of board-certified faculty members fromthe various disciplines of laboratory medicine determined the curricula and have been populating
the program with lectures devoted to the topics
of interest. These individuals are responsible for

We encourage all trainees in laboratory medicine
and their mentors to take advantage of this free resource and register to gain access to these materials by going to www.traineecouncil.org. It takes lessthan one minute! Enjoy the Pearls.

Table 1

Table 2

Disciplines

Number of Pearls•

Immunoassays

Clinical Chemistry64•

Point-Of-Care Testing

Molecular Diagnostics

30•

Fetal Lung Maturity

Hematology/Coagulation

17•

Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia

Transfusion Medicine

16•

Warfarin Pharmacogenetics

Immunology

10

Microbiology

15

Laboratory Management

512NEWS FROM REGIONAL FEDERATIONS AND MEMBER SOCIETIESThe Tunisian Society of Clinical Biology goes all out!
by Fethy Ben Hassine
STBC General Secretary
Abderrazek Hedhili
IFCC-AFCB Representative
Bernard Gouget
FIFBCML General Secretary
The XXXI Journées Nationales de Biologie Clinique(JNBC) 2017 of the Tunisian Society of Clinical Biology(Societe Tunisienne de Biologie Clinique-STBC) was
the opportunity to set up the Maghrebine Federationof Clinical Biology that brings together Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco to exchange experiences and news
on Lab Medicine.
Almost 800 attendees with the mission of collecting
science convened at the Royal Hammamet Convention
centre, including high ranking government officials,
health and laboratory medicine experts, social partners and industry representatives.
The congress organizers were passionate about creating an innovative and sustainable congress, with lively

discussions and exchange of knowledge, practices andexperiences between the attendees.
Symposia and technical sessions for the 303 accepted
e-posters were held in rooms with special multimedia
tools to enhance the interactions between presentersand participants as well as to create more dynamic
collaborative talks.
The main sessions focused on haemoglobinopathies,
myelodysplastic syndromes, imported parasites, antibiotic alternatives, hepatitis C, diabetes management,
tuberculosis.
The Molecular Biology Course for Young Researchers
has become a tradition, the theme of New Generation

L-R: Dr. Naoufel Nabli, Pr. Farouk Barguelil, Dr. Najoua Gharbi, Dr. Fethy Ben Hassine, Pr. Taieb Messaoud,Pr. Neziha Kaabachi, Pr. Slama Hmida, Pr. Abdelhédi Miled, Dr. Khelil Ben Abdallah, Pr. Manel Chaabane

Article continued on next page13

Sequencing (NGS) and Broadband Sequencing Platforms attracted a high attendance and the learning andknowledge exchange continued with IVD booths visits.
The new STBC Executive Board (2018-2020) was also
elected during the congress:•

Pr. Taieb Ben Messaoud, Président•

Pr. Brahim Nsiri, 1st Vice-President•

Pr. Farouk Barguellil 2nd Vice-President•

Pr. Manel Chaabane, General Secretary•

Pr. Asma Gheriani, 1st assistant General Secretary•

Pr. Kalthoum Kallel, 2nd assistant General Secretary•

Dr. Khelil Ben Abdallah, Treasurer•

Dr. Leila Kallel, assistant Treasurer•

Pr. Amina Bibi, archivist

Professor Slama HMIDA, STBC President 2014-2017,
has chosen to honour former members of the Tunisian Society of Clinical Biology Society retiring after
recognition of outstanding services, contributing to
the promotion of medical biology in Tunisia.
This tribute is the beginning of a tradition that can beprovided in the future as well, in a sustainable way
as a pledge of solidarity and strengthening links between medical biologists of different generations.
Three of the most valuable former members of the
STBC were honoured (see photo):•

Pr. Abdelhedi Miled, one of the founders and ex
STBC Vice President;•

Pr. Neziha Kaabachi, STBC President during 2 terms;•

Dr. Najoua Gharbi, ex-Treasurer and ex STBC
President.

A further novelty during the congress was the creationof the “Pr. Abderraouf Mbaza Award”, who was thepioneer of the Tunisian Clinical Biology field and thefounder of the STBC. This award is dedicated to a young
researcher and is additionally endowed with 5000 DT
and will be presented for the first time in 2018.
A comprehensive survey of attendees conducted during the conference found that the expectations of theparticipants were not only met, but also exceeded.
They were not merely satisfied, but also impressed
and they were motivated to implement their newly acquired knowledge in their work.
During the closing ceremony, Prof. Slama Hmida warmly encouraged and congratulated Prof. A. Hedhili, whocurrently sits on IFCC-EB (2018-2020) as AFCB Regional Representative. It is a tremendous honour for ourcountry to represent the Arabic region.
The STBC has a long and proud tradition of providing
leading edge expertise, outstanding biomedical research, and comprehensive education in Lab medicine.
Pr. Slama Hmida, expressed appreciation for the warm
collaboration with his EB members and is convincedthat the new team will bring innovation and enhance
attractiveness.
The XXXII JNBC 2018 will take place at the Royal Hotel
Hammamet on 10-12 May 2018 with topics such as antibiotic resistance, biosensors, fungal infections, genetics and omics, monitoring of the growth of the child,infectious diseases amongst others.

News from the Society of Medical Biochemists of Serbia
The 20th annual 'Professor Ivan Berkeš'
Scientific Conferenceby Snezana Jovicic
Liaison Member, IFCC eNewsletter Working Group
Honouring the life and work of Professor Ivan Berkeš, one of the founders of the medical biochemistry profession
in former Yugoslavia, the Society of Medical Biochemists of Serbia organized for the twentieth time, in December
2017, the traditional annual Scientific Conference.
Article continued on next page14

Professor Ivan Berkeš taught at Universities of Zagreb,
Skopje and Belgrade. His work at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade, was pivotal for the design of a postgraduate specialization studies program,and in foundation of clinical enzymology as an independent discipline. Professor Berkeš was a mentor toover 150 medical biochemistry specialists and several
dozen PhD students. He authored over 200 papers ininternational and national journals, as well as several
books. Upon his death, in 1997, his former students
gathered in the Society of Medical Biochemists of Serbia and established the Scientific Foundation “Professor Ivan Berkeš“. The Foundation traditionally awards
the best students graduated at the Faculty of Pharmacy University of Belgrade and organizes the Annual Scientific Conference where the doctoral dissertations defended in the field of medical biochemistryduring the past year are presented.
The 20th annual Scientific Conference was organizedtraditionally by Professor Nada Majkić-Singh, Professor Berkeš’ student and associate, who contributed the most to the remembrance of his legacy. The
Conference was held on December 7, 2017 under thepatronage of the Society of Medical Biochemists ofSerbia, Scientific Foundation „Professor Ivan Berkeš“and the Faculty of Pharmacy University of Belgrade.
It gathered over 200 participants: students, older colleagues who were the students of Professor Berkeš,
young graduate medical biochemists and teachers of
the Faculty of Pharmacy. Traditional guests were
the family members of Professor Berkeš: his son andgrandson, with their families.

Family of professor Berkeš
and audience at the Conference

Professor Nada Majkić-Singh opened the Conference,with the opening welcome and word on its history
and significance.
On behalf of the Faculty of Pharmacy, the participants
were welcomed by the Vice Dean, professor Nataša
Bogavac-Stanojević. After the opening words, the choirof students „Raskovnik” performed, adding the festivity to the event.

Choir of students of Faculty of Pharmacy “Raskovnik”;
the conductor Djordje Perović; on the piano, Vladimir Vujović

The opening ceremony was closed by awarding thevaledictorians of the two graduate programmes of
the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade – Tamara Antonić, Master of Pharmacy-Medical Biochemist, and Sandra Tešić, Master of Pharmacy. Prof. Nada
Majkić-Singh and Professor Marina Milenković, theVice Dean for Education, handed the awards to thisyear’s laureates.
Professor Svetlana Ignjatović and Professor Vesna
Spasojević-Kalimanovska chaired the scientific part of
the Conference. The program encompassed all of thethree fields of the medical biochemistry curriculum– medical biochemistry, toxicological chemistry andsanitary chemistry. In the first part, the results of theongoing scientific projects of the Faculty of Pharmacy
and Ministry of Science, Education and Technological
Development were presented.
The speakers were Professor Aleksandra Zeljković(“Assessment of LCAT and CETP activities as a tool for
estimation of structural and functional properties of
HDL particles”) and Professor Mirjana Bećarević (“Diagnostic and therapy of antiphospholipid syndrome”).
Article continued on next page

15

The second part was dedicated to doctoral thesis presentations. Dr. Marina Pjanović presented her work onbone formation markers and vitamin D in pregnancy. Metabolic and immunological effects of administration of
two Lactobacillus strains in mice fed a high fat diet were presented by Dr. Ana Djurić. The Conference was closedwith the presentation on the study on rats of cadmium and polychlorinated biphenyls mixture toxicity by Dr.
Aleksandra Buha-Đorđević.

Laureate of the “Professor Ivan Berkeš” Scientific Foundation,
Sandra Tešić (middle) with professor Marina Milenković (left)
and professor Nada Majkić-Singh (right)

Laureate of the “Professor Ivan Berkeš” Scientific Foundation,
Tamara Antonić (in the middle) with professor Marina
Milenković (left) and professor Nada Majkić-Singh (right)

Participants in the scientific part of the Conference with laureates
L-R: assistant Milica Miljković, professor Aleksandra Zeljković, professor Vesna Matović, professor Vesna SpasojevićKalimanovska, professor Nataša Bogavac-Stanojević, Tamara Antonić, professor Marina Milenković,
professor Nada Majkić-Singh, Sandra Tešić, professor Mirjana Bećarević, professor Svetlana Ignjatović

16

IFCC's Calendar of Congresses, Conferences & Events
Calendar of IFCC Congresses/Conferences
and Regional Federations' Congresses

Apr 18 - 21, 2018

15th Arab Conference of Clinical
Biology and Laboratory Medicine

Jul 2 - 4, 2018

1st IFCC, EFLM, AFCB Conference“Laboratory Medicine: Meetingthe needs of Mediterranean Nations”

Ramallah, PS

Rome, ITMay 19 - 23, 2019

IFCC - EFLM EuroMedLab 2019

Barcelona, ES

Sep 11 - 13, 2019

COLABIOCLI Regional Congress 2019Panama, PA

Nov 17 - 20, 2019

APFCB Regional Congress 2019

Jaipur, IN

May 24 - 28, 2020

XXIV IFCC WorldLab - Seoul 2020

Seoul, KR

May 16 - 20, 2021

XXIV IFCC - EFLM EuroMedLab Munich 2021

Munich, DE

May 21 - 25, 2023

XXV IFCC - EFLM WorldLab EuroMedLab - Rome 2023

Rome, IT

Calendar continued on next page17

Calendar of events with IFCC auspices
Apr 18 - 21, 2018

The 10th International Palestinan Conference of Laboratory Medicine
and the 15th Arab Conference of Clinical Biology

Ramallah, PS

Apr 26 - 28, 2018

V Jornadas Bioquimica de Cuyo

Mendoza, AR

Apr 28 - 29, 2018

TBS-BD Preanalytical Phase Symposium

Kaysery, TR

May 9 - 12, 2018

2nd Congress of Romanian Association of Laboratory Medicine

Bucharest, RO

May 9 - 12, 2018
May 23 - 25, 2018

9th Congress of the Croatian Societyof Medical Biochemistry & Laboratory Medicine
21st Serbian Congress of Medical Biochemistry
and Laboratory Medicine with international participations

Zagreb, HR
Belgrade, SRB

May 23 - 25, 2018

14th EFLM Symposium for Balkan Region

Belgrade, SRB

May 24 - 25, 2018

XVI Meeting of the SEQCML Scientific Committee

Madrid, ES

May 30 - 31, 2018

The new era of Laboratory Medicine:from Diagnosis to Clinical Management

Erice, IT

Jun 3 - 6, 2018

CSCC 2018 Annual Conference

Ottawa, CA

Jun 6 - 8, 2018

Focus 2018 - Annual Meeting of ACB

Manchester, UK

Jun 9 - 12, 2018

XXXVII Nordic Congress in Medical Biochemistry

Trondheim, NO

Jun 12 - 15, 2018

XXXVI Nordic Congress of Clinical ChemistryJun 18 - 19, 2018

2nd EFLM Strategic Conference“The end of Laboratory Medicine as we know it?
Handling disruption of Laboratory Medicine in digital health”

Jun 21 - 22, 2018

7th International Symposium on Critical Care Testing and Blood Gases

Helsinki, FIMannheim, DE
Antibes, FR

Jun 30 - Jul 3, 2018 International Society for Enzymology Conference

Naxos, GR

Jul 13 - 14, 2018

Shanghai, CN

Turning Science Into Caring (TSIC)

15th Annual Meeting of the German Society for Clinical Chemistry
and Laboratory Medicine - The foundation for diagnosis and therapy
Santorini Conference “Systems medicine and personalised healthSep 30 - Oct 3, 2018
& therapy” - “The odyssey from hope to practice”.
Sep 26 - 29, 2018

Mannheim, DE
Santorini, GR

Oct 3 - 5, 2018

26th BCLF Meeting and 6th National Congress of MSMBLM

Skopje, MK

Oct 30, 2018

International Conference on Laboratory Medicine"LABORATORY MEDICINE: 25 YEARS ON"

Padova, IT

Nov 1 - 4, 2018

2nd International Cell Death Research Congress

Magosa, CY

Nov 29, 2018

International Scientific Meeting of the Centre of MetrologicalTraceability in Laboratory Medicine (CIRME) "Standardizationin Laboratory Medicine and Patient Safety"

Milan, IT

Dec 7 - 8, 201852e Journée de Biologie Praticienne

Paris, FR

18

IFCC MEMBERSHIP
Full Members
Albania (AL)
Algeria (DZ)
Argentina (AR)Australia and New
Zealand (AU/NZ)
Austria (AT)
Belarus (BY)
Belgium (BE)Bolivia (BO)
Bosnia Herzegovina (BA)
Brazil (BR)
Bulgaria (BG)
Canada (CA)Chile (CL)
China (Beijing) (CN)China (Taipei) (TW)
Colombia (CO)Croatia (HR)Cuba (CU)
Cyprus (CY)
Czech Republic (CZ)
Denmark (DK)
Dominican Republic (DO)
Ecuador (EC)Egypt (EG)Estonia (EE)
Ethiopia (ET)Finland (FI)France (FR)Germany (DE)Greece (GR)
Guatemala (GT)
Honduras (HN)
Hong Kong (HK)
Hungary (HU)
Iceland (IS)India (IN)Indonesia (ID)
Iran (IR)
Ireland (IE)
Israel (IL)
Italy (IT)Japan (JP)Jordan (JO)
Kazakhstan (KZ)
Kenya (KE)
Korea (KR)Kosovo (XK)
Latvia (LV)
Lebanon (LB)
Lithuania (LT)
Luxembourg (LU)
Macedonia (MK)Malawi (MW)Malaysia (MY)Mexico (MX)Montenegro (MNE)
Morocco (MA)
Netherlands (NL)
Nepal (NP)
Nigeria (NG)
Norway (NO)Pakistan (PK)Palestine (PS)Panama (PA)Paraguay (PY)
Peru (PE)Philippine (PH)Poland (PL)Portugal (PT)
Romania (RO)Russia (RU)
Saudi Arabia (SA)Serbia (SRB)
Singapore (SG)Slovak Republic (SK)Slovenia (SI)South Africa (ZA)
Spain (ES)Sri Lanka (LK)
Sudan (SD)
Sweden (SE)Switzerland (CH)
Syrian Arab Republic (SY)
Thailand (TH)Tunisia (TN)Turkey (TR)Ukraine (UA)United Kingdom (UK)
United States (US)Uruguay (UY)
Vietnam (VN)
Zambia (ZM)
Zimbabwe (ZW)

Regional Federations
Arab Federation of Clinical Biology (AFCB)
African Federation of Clinical Chemistry (AFCC)
Asia-Pacific Federation for Clinical Biochemistry andLaboratory Medicine (APFCB)
European Federation of Clinical Chemistry andLaboratory Medicine (EFLM)
Latin America Confederation of Clinical Biochemistry(COLABIOCLI)North American Federation of Clinical Chemistry andLaboratory Medicine (NAFCC)

Corporate Members
AbbottADx Neurosciences
Agappe Diagnostics, Ltd.
Analis R&D Diag.
Asahi Kasei Pharma Corp., AS
BD Life Sciences – Preanalytical Systems
Beckman Coulter, Inc.
Beijing Dream Diagnostics Medicine (DDM)
Technology Co. Ltd.
The Binding Site Group, Ltd.
Bio-Rad Laboratories
C.P.M. Diagnostic Research, SAS
DiaSys Diagnostic Systems GmbH
DiatronFujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Corporation
Fujirebio Europe
Gentian, AS
Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech Co., Ltd.
Helena Biosciencies Europe
Hemas Hospitals (PVT) Ltd.
HyTest, Ltd.
A. Menarini Diagnostics

Mindray
Mitsubishi Chemical Europe, GmbH
Ningbo MedicalSystem Biotech. Co., Ltd.
Nova Biomedical Corporation
Oneworld Accuracy Collaboration
Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc.
PPD Inc.
Radiometer Medical ApS
Randox Laboratories, Ltd.
Roche Diagnostics, GmbH
Sebia S.A.
Sekisui Diagnostics (Uk) Ltd.
Sentinel CH SpA
Shanghai Kehua Bio-Engineering Co., Ltd.
Shanghai Zhicheng Biol. Tech. Co., Ltd.
Sichuan Maccura Biotechnology Co., Ltd.
Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics
Snibe Co., Ltd.
Sysmex Europe, GmbH
Thermo Fisher Scientific
Timedico A/SLabor Dr. Wisplinghoff

Affiliate Members
Brazil: Sociedade Brasileira de Patologia Clínica / Medicina Laboratorial (SBPC/ML)
China: Lab Medicine Committee, China Association of Medical Equipment (LMC)
Egypt: Egyptian Association of Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety
India: Association of Medical Biochemists of India (AMBI)
Iran: Iranian Association of Clinical Laboratory Doctors (IACLD)
Jordan: Society for Medical Technology & Laboratories (SMTL)
Mexico: Federación Nacional de Químicos Clínicos (CONAQUIC A.C.)
Nepal: Nepalese Association for Clinical Chemistry (NACC)
Philippines: Philippine Council for Quality Assurance in Clinical Laboratories (PCQACL)
Russia: Regional Association for Clinical Laboratory Diagnosis, St. Petersburg
Spain: Asociación Española de Farmacéuticos Analistas (AEFA)
Turkey: Society of Clinical Biochemistry Specialists (KBUD)
Ukraine: Association for Quality Assurance of Laboratory Medicine (AQALM)

Publisher
Communications and Publications
Division (CPD) of the IFCC
Starting in 2018, the Communications
and Publications Division publishes
ten editions of the e-News per year,
including two double issues.

EditorTahir Pillay, MB ChB, PhD, FRCPath (Lon), FCPath (SA)
Department of Chemical Pathology
University of Pretoria, South Africa
E-mail: enews@ifcc.org

Design & Production:www.insoftdigital.com

Circulation
The eNews is distributed to all IFCC members
registered on-line to receive it and to all IFCC
sponsors.

Deadlines for submissions
to the eNews
N° 1 – February: by mid January
N° 2 – March: by mid February
N° 3 – April: by mid March
N° 4 – May: by mid April
N° 5 – June: by mid May
N° 6/7 – July: by mid June
N° 8 – September: by mid August
N° 9 – October: by mid September
N° 10 – November: by mid October
N° 11/12 – December: by mid November
If you want to submit an article or advertisement
to be published in the eNews, send it to:
Tahir Pillay, Editor, IFCC eNews
E-mail: enews@ifcc.org

Copyright © 2018 IFCC. All rights reserved.
Contents may not be reproduced without the priorpermission of the Communications and Publications
Division (CPD) of the IFCC.