Communications and Publications Division (CPD) of the IFCC
Editor: Katherina Psarra, MSc, PhD
Department of Immunology - Histocompatibility
Evangelismos Hospital, Athens, Greece
E-mail: enews@ifcc.org

International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine

N° 1/2 – January/February 2019In t h is issue
 EDITORIAL
 Message from the eNews editor

4

 THE VOICE OF IFCC
 “Predatory conferences”: beware the traps

5

 Obituary: Jill Russyll Tate7

 The election of the next IFCC Executive Board: timing and process8 IFCC Programmes for Personal Support

10

 IFCC: THE PEOPLE
 Welcome and thanks to Chairs

12 Open positions within IFCC

14

 IFCC: THE YOUNG SCIENTISTS
 IFCC-TFYS session reports

15 CONTRIBUTE TO IFCC eNEWS
 The EU In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Device Regulation 2017/746 (IVDR)

21

 e-Cardiology in Moscow

25 University of Zimbabwe - external examiners27

In t h is issu e ( cont 'd)
 NEWS FROM REGIONAL FEDERATIONS AND MEMBER SOCIETIES News from the Argentine Biochemistry Foundation (FBA)31

 News from Pakistan: "Promoting research in the area of vitamin D"

33

 The 3rd Regional Workshop ISO 15189 for Latin America and the Caribbean

35 News from the Japanese Society of Clinical Chemistry (JSCC)

38

 News from the Société Française de Biologie Clinique (SFBC)

39

 News from the Royal Belgian Society of Laboratory Medicine (RBSLM)

40

 News from the Macedonian Society of Medical Biochemistry
and Laboratory Medicine (MSMBLM)

41

 News from the Greek Societyof Clinical Chemistry-Clinical Biochemistry (GSCC-CB)

44

 News from the Society of Medical Biochemists of Serbia (SMBS)

46

 News from the Spanish Society of Laboratory Medicine (SEQCML)

48

 EFLM project "Exchange of practical knowledge
and skills in laboratory medicine"51

 NEW IFCC MEMBERS
 IFCC welcomes new affiliate member from Serbia: SCLM

53

 IFCC'S CALENDAR OF CONGRESSES, CONFERENCES & EVENTS

54

EDITORIAL
Message from the eNews Editor
by Katherina Psarra
eNews Editor
It is my pleasure and honor to address this editorial to you as the new
IFCC eNews Editor and Chair of the WG-IFCC News. I take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and productive New Year in your personal
and professional life.
I would like to underline the importance of sharing the IFCC news withyou, in order to have a better communication between IFCC and IFCC
member societies, as well as with everybody working in a laboratory.
A lot of IFCC news come from all over the world and it is probably the
only opportunity to come in contact with the achievements and theneeds of colleagues in the broader IFCC family.
In this issue you will find information about the future of laboratory
medicine as it was presented during the IFCC General Conference in
Budapest, as well as at the regional congresses all over the world.
Special attention should be given to our young colleagues, the future of
our profession. A special presentation concerns their activities within
IFCC member societies, congresses or other scientific organizations.
Dear colleagues, I hope that you will pay special attention to the IFCC
eNews and possibly provide your feedback and communications.

Katherina Psarra

News from the IFCC Website
C-CLM Survey
The Committee on Clinical Laboratory Management invites laboratory
professionals from the IFCC member national societies to participate ina survey study. This survey examines medical laboratory test utilization
management and relevant practices which are country-specific from alaboratory staff perspective. The survey is designed to be completed by
the leadership types of medical or clinical laboratory professionals who
have direct contact or interaction with physicians and facility administration and whose primary professional work directly affects patient care.
Deadline to complete this survey: February 28, 2019.
Survey website: http://www.ifcc.org/ifcc-news/2019-29-01-c-clm-survey/.

4

THE VOICE OF IFCC
“Predatory conferences”: beware the traps
by Howard Morris
President, IFCC
Maurizio Ferrari
Past-President, IFCC
We often open our email inbox to find something likethis from someone unknown:“Dear Dr. ………,
I’m writing to follow-up on my last invitation as below,
would you please give me a tentative reply? Thankyou very much. I apologize for the inconvenience if theletter disturbed you more than once….
It is our great pleasure and privilege to welcome you
to join the 7th Annual World Congress on ……, which
conference will be held during November 13-15, 2018
in Singapore.
On behalf of the Organizing Committee, we would behonored to invite you to be a chair/speaker while presenting about Comment on Bristow et al.: Dietary calcium: adverse or beneficial effects of supplements?
at the upcoming conference….”
This practice is known as “predatory conferences”.
It is like “predatory publishing” and is based on thebusiness model of scientific conferences organized byrevenue-seeking companies, often exhibiting the following traits:• low quality academic meetings for the primary aim of making money, not supporting
education and science• no effective peer review, allowing anyone topurchase a speaking slot
• employing deceit, the most common forms
being false claims of peer review, hiding thetrue location of the company headquarters
and concealing the for-profit nature of theenterprise.

These companies base their business models on exploiting the need for scientists to build their reputation to enhance opportunities for employment, promotion and successful research grant applications.
Making international conference presentations appear to be highly attractive propositions. Particularly
when it is accompanied by a text praising your contribution and often utilising the title of one of yourpublications.
Unwary researchers fall prey to these seemingly“prestigious” speaking or session chair opportunities.
They pay the high registration fee to attend, as wellas the high cost of travel and lodging to sometimes
find out there are just a small number of early-stage
career registrants, or often nothing, at the supposed
conference venue.
These types of conferences make money throughregistration fees that are bundled with charges forhotel stays, meals, program materials, ground transportation and other hidden charges. The use of deceptively similar names to existing reputable conferences and conference locations also contributes tothe potential for confusion.
The IFCC, together with our European colleagues from
EFLM, have organized the EuroMedlab Congress since1974. These congresses have developed a reputation
as one of the highest quality conferences on clinicallaboratory practice internationally. Our next event is
EuroMedlab 2019 Barcelona, which will be held between 19-24 May 2019, and which has been publicised since 2015.
Article continued on next page5

It is surprising to see recent advertisements for “MEDLAB Europe Barcelona”. Is this the same conference?
Are the organisers the same? Will the quality be equal
to EuroMedlab 2017 Athens and EuroMedlab 2015
Paris? The answers are: no, no, no!!!
Similar MEDLAB congresses are being organized aroundthe world, all based on the same strategy but with the
only mission to improve the profit for a private company, Informa.
The business model for these predatory conferences
is slightly different from the openly fraudulent activities. Their focus is on attracting exhibitors. However, companies paying for expensive exhibition space
want customers viewing their exhibits. In laboratory
medicine, that means industrial exhibition organizers
need to provide at least the semblance of an educational program to attract potential customers for theexhibitors.
Therefore, they create the illusion of high-quality edu­
cational programs with an assembly of well-known academic clinical laboratory practitioners listed on theAdvisory Board and Scientific Committee for the congress. We know from personal contacts that a numberof these individuals have not agreed to support such acongress and have asked that their names be removed,
but to no avail.
Finally, the most attractive component of a conference
for many practitioners is the ability to accrue Continuing Medical Education credit and so we see the statement that an “application has been made through”
the support of an academic society.
Why are these predatory conferences a concern for
professional societies? Firstly, we are concerned forthe welfare of our members and the status of our
profession. Individual members are being defrauded
through some of these ventures.
For example, Omics International is presently beingsued by the USA Federal Trade Commission for deceptive trade practices, over organizing conferences underat least four other brands, as well as OMICS, including:Conference Series, Pulsus Group, EuroSciCon and Life
Science Events.
Furthermore, all professional societies, whether national, regional or international including IFCC, holdsuch conferences as part of their continuing education responsibilities for their members and the profession.
These conferences are important for the In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) industry and professional societies attract
income to support their ongoing work for the profession, including scientific and educational programs
conducted to develop the profession, providing educational materials independent of the conferences
and providing scholarships for young scientists to attend the congresses.
The market for medical science congresses is limited.
The IVD industry is already concerned about the number of congresses being organized by professional societies and for which they are receiving requests forsponsorship.
The entry of exclusively ‘for profit’ congresses, suchas the copycat MEDLAB group, pose a threat to thesustainability of the educational and scientific programs of all professional societies.
This threat can only be realized if we, the clinical laboratory specialists, provide the academic and educational support critical for attracting registrants.
We ask you to be vigilant regarding invitations to joina scientific or advisory committee; ensure you arevolunteering your expertise and time in a way that is
worthwhile for the profession.
We need to be vigilant about accepting invitations to
speak at conferences and about selecting the conferences that we attend.
In the interest of the profession of laboratory medicine the IFCC urges you to ignore these activities
aimed at simply generating a profit for a company andto continue your support for our professional societies and their activities.

6

Obituary

Obituary: Jill Russyll Tate

Clin Chem Lab Med 2019; 57(2): 147

Jillian Russyll (AKA Jill) Tatehttps://doi.org/10.1515/cclm-2018-2394

We wish to particularly recall that she was, and she willremain, an archetype for many laboratory professionals
because, along with her exceptional competency and expertise, she was always humble and supportive during her lifetime devoted to science in the service of humanity. She will
be remembered with love, affection and respect by all those
who knew her, especially by her friends and colleagues.

With deep sorrow we announce that on December 4,2018 we have lost a good friend, a nice colleague, anesteemed scientist and an Associate Editor of Clinical
Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine.
Jill Tate died after a long illness which she faced withcourage and endurance. Although the disease did notallow her to work so hard in the last few months as she
did throughout her career, she expressed her joy in assisting with the publication of the special issue on “Harmonization in Laboratory Medicine: the Request, the Sample,
the Measurement, and the Report” which was conceived,
managed and published only thanks to Jill’s enthusiastic
and devoted work.
Jill, in fact, was the Chair of the Australasian Association of Clinical Biochemists’ Harmonisation Committee
and worked on a wide range of harmonization activities,
including common reference intervals, standardized
measurement units, terminology and reporting in laboratory medicine, as well as critical results notification, activities which are now universally recognized as “the global
picture of harmonization in laboratory medicine”.
Although Jill worked as a Senior Scientist at the
Pathology Queensland Department of Chemical Pathology at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in Brisbane, her invaluable contribution to the advancement oflaboratory medicine needs to be acknowledged.
Jill chaired the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) Working
Group for the Standardization of Cardiac Troponin I (IFCC
WG-TNI), and previously participated in the IFCC Committee
on Standardization of Markers of Cardiac Damage and the
IFCC Working Group on Standardization of Lipoprotein(a).
Along with dozens of other papers in leading journals,
she published several seminal papers, including those oninterference in immunoassays [1], measurement uncertainty[2], standardization of cardiac troponin I immunoassays [3],reporting of serum protein electrophoresis to clinicians [4],and many other innovative and interesting articles.

References
1. Tate J, Ward G. Interferences in immunoassay. Clin Biochem Rev
2004;25:105–20.
2. Tate JR, Plebani M. Measurement uncertainty – a revised
understanding of its calculation and use. Clin Chem Lab Med
2016;54:1277–9.
3. Panteghini M, Bunk DM, Christenson RH, Katrukha A, Porter RA,
Schimmel H, et al. Standardization of troponin I measurements:
an update. Clin Chem Lab Med 2008;46:1501–6.
4. Tate JR, Mollee P, Gill D. The reporting of serum protein electrophoresis to clinicians. Clin Chim Acta 2005;358:204–5.

Corresponding author: Professor Mario Plebani, Departmentof Laboratory Medicine, University-Hospital of Padova,
35128 Padova, Italy, Phone: +390498212792,
Fax: +39049663240, E-mail: mario.plebani@unipd.it
Philippe Gillery
American Memorial Hospital, Laboratory of Pediatric Biology
and Research, CHU Reims, Reims, France
Heike Jahnke
De Gruyter, Berlin, Germany
Karl Lackner
University of Mainz, Institut for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory
Medicine, Mainz, Germany
Giuseppe Lippi
University of Verona, Section of Clinical Biochemistry, Verona, Italy
Bohuslav Melichar
Palacky University Medical School and Teaching Hospital,
Department of Oncology, Olomouc, Czech Republic
Deborah A. Payne
American Pathology, Partners-Unipath LLC – Clinical Trials
and Development, Denver, CO, USA
Peter Schlattmann
University Hospital Jena, Institut of Medical Statistics, Informatics
and Documentation, Jena, Germany
UnauthenticatedDownload Date | 1/23/19 3:18 AM

7The election of the next IFCC Executive Board: timing and processby G.H. Beastall
Chair, IFCC Nominations Committee
INTRODUCTION
The current IFCC Executive Board (EB) has commenced its second of three years in office. It will finish its term on 31 December 2020 and a new EB willtake over on 1 January 2021. This short article aims to
explain the timescale and the process for electing thenext EB, and readers may be surprised to learn thatthe ‘starting gun has already been fired’.
COMPOSITION OF THE IFCC EXECUTIVE BOARD

serve as President from January 2021. The electionof the Secretary and Treasurer commences once thenominees for President have been announced. The
election of the Regional Federation representatives
and the Corporate Representative commences once
the nominees for Secretary and Treasurer are known.
The election of each EB member involves four stages:•

A call for nominations lasting three months•

One month for the Nominations Committee
to consider the nominations received•

A period to allow the approved nominees
to lobby for support•

One month for the electronic ballot
by the appropriate electorate

The EB has the following composition:
•

•

•

•

•

IFCC President, who serves one year as PresidentElect and then three years as President. He/she iselected by IFCC Full Members
IFCC Secretary and IFCC Treasurer. These two
office bearers serve for three years and areeach eligible to serve for a second three-year
term. They are elected by IFCC Full Members
Representatives of the six IFCC Regional
Federations. The IFCC Full Members
in each Regional Federation elect theirrepresentative to serve a three-year term
Corporate Representative, who is electedby IFCC Corporate Members. He/she serves
for three years and is eligible to serve fora second three-year term
IFCC Past President, who serves for two years
after he/she has completed their term as
President. He/she does not serve in the final yearof the EB when the President-Elect is present.

The IFCC Office supports EB and attends its meetings
in a non-voting capacity.
SCHEDULE FOR ELECTION
OF THE NEXT IFCC EXECUTIVE BOARD
The schedule is shown in the Figure. It starts with theelection of the President, who will serve on the Executive Board as President-Elect from January 2020 and

NOMINATIONS COMMITTEEThe Nominations Committee (NC) oversees the election of the next EB. It undertakes this role independently from the current EB. The NC has three functions:•

To encourage others to submit nominations.
Members of the NC cannot be nominees;
do not solicit nominations directly; andcannot sponsor a nominee•

To assess the validity of the nominations
received in terms of the IFCC Statutes and Rules.
All valid nominations will go forward to the ballot;
the NC has no role in shortlisting nominations.

•

To oversee each ballot in collaboration with
the IFCC Office and to announce the resultsof each ballot

The membership of the IFCC Nominations Committee
for the next EB is:•

Graham Beastall (UK) - a former Past President•

Maurizio Ferrari (IT) - the immediate Past President•

Bernard Gouget (FR) - the Chair of the previous
Nominations Committee
Article continued on next page8

•Angela Amayo (KE) - representing the African
Federation (AFCC)•

Endang Hoyaranda (ID) - representing the Asian
Pacific Federation (APFCB)•Montserrat Blanes (PY) - representing the Latin
American Federation (COLABIOCLI)•

Huib Storm (NL) - representing the European
Federation (EFLM)•

Nathalie LePage (CA) - representing the North
American Federation (NAFCC)•

Osama Najjar (PS) - representing the ArabFederation (AFCB)ELECTION OF THE NEXT IFCC PRESIDENTIFCC Full Member societies have been contacted by
the NC and invited to submit nominations for the roleof the next IFCC President. The call for nominations
opened on 1st February and will close on the 30th
April, 2019.
Nominations should be made on the appropriate
nominations form and must be approved by the Full
Member society, which is responsible for submitting
the nomination.
Persons wishing to suggest a suitable nominee should
discuss the topic with a Full Member society of which
they are a member.

Schedule for Election of Next Executive Board 2019
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
President elect CALL FOR NOMINATIONSTreasurer
Secretary
Corp. Member
6 Regional Reps

2019
MAY JUN JUL AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
NC
LOBBYING
BALLOTRESULTSCALL FOR NOMINATIONS NC
LOBBYING c/o NR
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS NC
LOBBYING c/o NR
CALL FOR NOMINATIONSNCCALL FOR NOMINATIONS
NC

Schedule for Election of Next Executive Board

Schedulefor
forElection
ElectionofofNext
NextExecutive
Executive
Board
2020
Schedule
Board
2019

2019
LEGEND
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY 20202019
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
CALL
Call
for
nominations
President electCALL FORNOMINATIONSJANMARJULLOBBYING
APR
24 MAY: COUNCIL
JAN
FEB
MAR
APRFEB MAY NC
JUN
AUG
SEP
OCTBALLOTNOVRESULTS
DEC
NC
Nomination
Committee
evaluates
Treasurerelect CALL
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
NC
President
elect term beginsNC LOBBYING
President
FOR NOMINATIONSBALLOTRESULTS
Secretary Distribution to NR/CR-lobbying
CALL FOR NOMINATIONSNCLOBBYING
BALLOTRESULTS
Treasurer
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS NC
LOBBYING c/o NR
Corp. Member
CALL FOR NOMINATIONSBALLOT
Electronic ballot
BALLOTRESULTS
SecretaryCALL
FOR
NOMINATIONSNCLOBBYING
c/o NR
6 Regional Results
Reps announced
CALL
FOR NOMINATIONSRESULTS

Corp. Member
6 Regional RepsLOBBYING c/o CR
LOBBYING c/o NR

BALLOTBALLOTRESULTSRESULTSCALL FOR NOMINATIONSCALL FOR NOMINATIONSNC
NC

LEGEND
CALL
Call for nominations
NC
Nomination Committee evaluates
LEGENDLOBBYING Distribution to NR/CR-lobbying
CALL
for nominations
BALLOT Call
ElectronicballotNC
Nomination
Committee evaluates
RESULTS Results announced
LOBBYING Distribution to NR/CR-lobbying

BALLOTRESULTSElectronic ballot
Results announced
9

IFCC Programmes for Personal Support
by G.H. Beastall
IFCC Past President
Chair of WG-PS
IFCC is pleased to announce the operation of the newly created IFCC Working Group for Personal Support (WGPS), which is part of the Education and Management Division.
The WG-PS brings together two previous IFCC programmes that offer one-to-one support to individuallaboratory medicine specialists:
1.

The IFCC Register of Experts

2.

The IFCC Mentoring Programme

A brief description of each programme is given below together with links to access the services offeredby WG-PS.
Further details of WG-PS can be found on the IFCC
website by using the following link:
http://www.ifcc.org/ifcc-education-division/working-groups-special-projects/wg-ps/.
1. REGISTER OF EXPERTS
IFCC has established a database of experts fromaround the world who have offered to share theirscientific or management expertise with senior
trainees or newly qualified laboratory medicine practitioners. The collaboration will be short-term and will
relate to a specific topic raised by the enquirer.
Practitioners wishing to contact an Expert should use the link below. This will take you to the list of available
expertise and the experts who are willing to provide information or advice.
To contact an Expert, it is necessary for the enquirer to complete a short form, which is then submitted electronically to the IFCC Office.
The WG-PS will then arrange an introduction to the most appropriate Expert.
•

To contact an Expert, go to: http://www.ifcc.org/ifcc-education-division/experts/.

IFCC is keen to expand the number of Experts on its database. Therefore, the WG-PS invites senior practitioners
with expertise in one or more areas of laboratory medicine to apply to be an Expert.
This process involves completion of a short form, which is submitted to the IFCC Office, for consideration by
the WG-PS.
•

To apply to be an Expert, go to the WG-PS website page and download the form, available at the following
link: http://www.ifcc.org/media/477450/application-form-expert_ifcc_register-of-experts.doc.
Article continued on next page10

2. MENTORING PROGRAMME
Mentoring is defined as a voluntary process in which
an experienced individual helps another person
develop his or her goals and skills through a series oftime-limited, confidential, one-on-one conversations
and other learning activities. Therefore, mentoring ismore broadly based and is likely to take longer thancontacting an Expert on a specific topic.
The experienced individual in a mentoring relationship is known as the Mentor. The individual seeking
support is known as the Associate (or Mentee).
The IFCC Mentoring programme is intended to support Associates who are in the final stages of theirtraining as laboratory medicine specialists, or who
are newly appointed clinical laboratory directors whoare seeking to improve the quality of their laboratory
with the aim of laboratory accreditation.
Typically, Associates are based in developing countries
whilst Mentors are experienced, including recently retired, laboratory medicine specialists.

Graham Beastall

Associates wishing to apply to access the Mentoring
programme should use the link below. This will takeyou to a short registration form, which is submitted
to the IFCC Office.

“One of the strengths of IFCC is its global network ofExperts and senior professionals who are willing tosupport more junior individuals and/or practitioners
from developing countries on a one-to-one basis. WGPS aims to utilise this network.

The WG-PS for will evaluate the application and thenarrange an introduction to the most appropriate
Mentor.

WG-PS is an unusual IFCC programme because it targets individual laboratory medicine practitioners rather than IFCC Member societies or companies.

•

To request Mentoring, go to the WG-PS website
page and download the form•

IFCC is keen to expand the number of Mentors
on its database, including those who speak
languages other than English.
Therefore, the WG-PS invites senior laboratory
directors, including recently retired persons,to apply to be a Mentor. This process involves
completion of a short form, which is submitted
to the IFCC Office for consideration by WG-PS.

•

To apply to be a Mentor, go to the WG-PS
website page and download the form

Past President Graham Beastall, Chair of WG-PS, offers the following comment on the operation of theWorking Group.

To be effective WG-PS needs help to promote its two
programmes to individuals and we have asked IFCC
members to help us to do this.
In addition, we will be using our Young Scientist network and social media to help spread the word.
Ultimately, the success of WG-PS will depend on ourability to reach the individuals who can benefit fromthe personal support programmes. Please draw theattention of this article to your colleagues and referthem to:http://www.ifcc.org/ifcc-education-division/working-groups-special-projects/wg-ps/.
Any queries about the WG-PS should be addressed toSilvia Cardinale in the IFCC Office (ifcc@iffc.org).

11

IFCC: THE PEOPLE
Welcome and thanks to the Chairs
FAREWELL KHOSROW ADELI
Khosrow Adeli second term as Chair of the IFCC Communications and Publications Division finished at theend of 2018. He has served two terms as Chair of the
Public Relations Committee. During the past ten years
his teams have developed IFCC educational materials,
career brochures and slides about lab professions inover twelve languages, developed partnerships withmany sister organizations to promote Lab Medicine.
Under his CPD leadership, the eJournal of the IFCC hasgained greater visibility and utility and the e-Academy
was developed on the IFCC website to promote worldwide access to IFCC educational material.
Dr. Adeli has an accomplished career as an educatorand researcher which is another component of his international contributions. He served (2006-2010) as
the first Canadian Chair of COMACC, (Commission on
Accreditation in Clinical Chemistry, a North Americanorganization responsible for accreditation of clinicalchemistry training programs in the USA and Canada)
and has personally provided lectures and workshops
across North America, Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East and in Asia.
Dr. Adeli served as the Chair of the Canadian Academyof Clinical Biochemistry for two terms and continues
to serve as the post-doctoral training program director at the University of Toronto. He is a diplomate of theAmerican Board of Clinical Biochemistry. Dr. Adeli’s career attests to his international contributions to research. His role as Editor in Chief for the international journal Clinical Biochemistry, in addition to his otherroles with other journals as editor or on editorial boards is outstanding. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of
the Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences and an editorial board member of the Clinical Biochemist
Reviews. Khosrow’s lasting international impact occurs as his students and post-doctoral fellows continues intheir careers around the globe.
Khosrow Adeli

Dr. Adeli is the head and full professor of Clinical Biochemistry at the Hospital for Sick Children and the Departments of Biochemistry, and Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada.
He is the Director of Point of Care Testing program at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
Article continued on next page12

Some words from his colleagues within the CPD---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Twelve years. This is the time I have had the privilege
to work with Khosrow in the context of the CPD-EC,
first as Editor of the eNewsLetter and later as Chair of
the C-PR and Vice-Chair of the CPD.
I must testify that Khosrow, as well as Ellis Jacobs before him, have created an environment conducive tocollaboration and friendship that has fostered the development of an efficient Division with respect to its
mandate: Communication and Publication.
During the last twelve years he has spared no effort incompleting his numerous tasks, always ready to provide his help to whomever needed it.
On a personal note, I wish to express my gratitude to
Khosrow for his constant support and friendship.
Thanks, Khosrow!
Prof. Edgard Delvin (CA)former C-PR Chair------------------------------------------------------------The IFCC and CPD committee has benefitted greatly
from the chairmanship of Khosrow Adeli over the past
six years and he has left big shoes to fill.
It was my privilege to serve the CPD and the IFCC under his leadership and so the end of his term is viewed
with some poignancy.
During his term, a number of important initiatives
were implemented in the overall IFCC communicationand publication strategy and he leaves a substantial
legacy for us to build and take forward.
We look forward to seeing him again, in another important role in the IFCC in the future.
Prof. Tahir Pillay (ZA)
former IFCC eNews Editor------------------------------------------------------------Khosrow Adeli has a really pleasant personality thatmakes it very easy to get along with him.

This was the first impression I had about him when we
first met in person in Buenos Aires in February 2018.
Previously, we had only exchanged e-mails, buteven in those letters he was very stimulating andencouraging.
Since then, I got to know him better and I was happy that he accepted the Honorary membership of the
Hungarian Society of Laboratory Medicine and we
could share such a joyful and memorable occasion.”
Prof. János KAPPELMAYER (HU)
eJIFCC Editor------------------------------------------------------------CPD will miss his wide experience, dedication towork and commitment with IFCC mission.
Khosrow was a true team leader and always had asmart and precise advice for each project or issue.
Sometimes, we had to struggle with some really hardsituations, but he always managed to solve themwith tons of patience and kindness. These kind manners were a personal learning experience for me. I´mthankful to have met him!
Dr. Eduardo FREGGIARO (AR)Publications/Distance Learning Coordinator------------------------------------------------------------Khosrow is a kind-hearted and brilliant leader, who
leaves a legacy of accomplishments and inspiration to
the CPD.
He was a joy to work with, a pleasure to partner withand it was an honor to serve under his leadership.
Thank you, Khosrow, for your long-standing commitment to the CPD and looking forward to seeing you
continue to lead success throughout the IFCC, Laboratory Medicine and to Healthcare!
Kind regards and with high respect,
Tricia Ravalico (US)CPD Corporate Representative------------------------------------------------------------Article continued on next page

13

WELCOME TAHIR PILLAY

Tahir Pillay, the new Chair of Communications andPublications Division Executive Committee of the
IFCC, is Chief Specialist, Professor and Head of the
Department of Chemical Pathology, University of Pretoria and National Health Laboratory service, Steve
Biko Academic Hospital and Director of the Divisionof Clinical Pathology and Clinical Pathology training
programme, Pretoria, South Africa.
He graduated MBChB cum laude from the Universityof Natal, South Africa in the 1980s. He received a PhD
in biochemistry from the University of Cambridge andcompleted his postgraduate training at Hammersmith
Hospital, Imperial College, London and postdoctoral
training at the University of California San Diego.
He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists andthe College of Pathologists, South Africa.
He is currently discipline editor for the London-based
Journal of Clinical Pathology and a member of the International Committee of the Royal College of Pathologists, London as well as being country advisor to theRoyal College of Pathologists.

Tahir Pillay

Best wishes for many successful results to the new
Chair and many thanks to Khosrow for his contribution to IFCC life!

Open positions within IFCC
Calls for nominations are currently open within the following two Divisions:
SCIENTIFIC DIVISION (SD): Committee on Traceability in Laboratory Medicine (C-TLM)
One position within the C-TLM.
Applications should be sent via e-mail to the IFCC Office (paola.bramati@ifcc.org), no later than 10 February 2019.
EDUCATION AND MANAGEMENT DIVISION (EMD):
Committee on Education in the Use of Biomarkers in Diabetes (C-EUBD)
One position within the C-EUBD.
Applications should be sent via e-mail to the IFCC Office (cardinale@ifcc.org), no later than 17 February 2019.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Please refer to your National Representative or Corporate Representative
for any information on procedures for nominations

14

IFCC: THE YOUNG SCIENTISTS
IFCC-TFYS session reports
16th Panhellenic Congress of Clinical Chemistry11-13 October 2018 – Alexandroupolis, Greeceby E. Konsta
EuSpLM & YS representative Greek Society
13 October 2018: The 16th Panhellenic Congress ofClinical Chemistry took place in Alexandroupolis,
Greece, between 11-13 October, where a round tableof IFCC Task Force Young Scientists was held on Saturday, October 13th as follows:
16:00-17:30 Symposium Theme: “Young Scientists
in the field of Laboratory Medicine”
Moderators:
E. Konsta, MSc, PhD, EuSpLM, Faculty of Health andCaring Professions, University of West Attica, Greece
L. Louka, Chemist, MSc, Metropolitan Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Young Scientists speakers:
1. Education and application of clinical chemistry in
Sweden?

P. Kompogiannis, Biomedical Sciences Student, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece?
2. Discovering the post-transcriptional regulationof HLA class I APM components and its clinical relevance in melanoma as a PhD student in Germany
M. Lazaridou Chemist, PhD Candidate in Institute for
medical immunology, Halle (Saale), Germany
3. Succeeding as a young scientist
A. Velts, MSc Gene Technology, Head of Laboratory
at West Tallinn Central Hospital, Tallinn, Estonia
P. K. Dabla, Chair IFCC-TFYS, joined the session throughSkype and gave brief introduction of IFCC-TFYS. He invited young scientists to join and work together with
TFYS vast network.

Young Scientists at the 16th Panhellenic Congress, with (centre) Dr Haliassos,president of the Greek Society of Clinical Chemistry - Clinical Biochemistry (GSCC-CB)
Article continued on next page

15

Young professionals constitute the future of laboratory medicine. Continuous and proper training in thefield of laboratory medicine is necessary.
In addition, such continuous education is needed foradvancements as well as competition in the medical
field. It may include new practices, research and contact with innovative means; and it undoubtedly offers
a huge advantage for those who seek opportunities
for professional development.
IFCC is promoting the importance of networking andcooperation with colleagues across the world withworking groups and task forces which bring together
people from all over the world.
The Task Force for Young Scientists (TF-YS) was createdto facilitate the exchange of knowledge, ideas andexperience between young professionals in laboratory
medicine and other healthcare practice, and to contri­bute in the dissemination of the idea of the importanceof Laboratory Specialist job and to help them finding
their way throughout Europe and build their career byenabling access to many educational tools and to opportunities for mentoring and international exchange.

The 50° National Congress of the Italian Society Clinical Chemistry (SIBioC)
16 October 2018 – Naples, Italy
by Giulia Sancesario
Coordinator of SIBioC Young Scientists Working Group
16 October 2018: A special event was the Skype participation of Prof. Pradeep Kumar Dabla, invited by Prof.
Sergio Bernardini, President SIBioC, and Dr. Giulia Sancesario, coordinator of SIBioC Young Scientists Working
Group, at the Opening Ceremony of the 50° National
Congress of the Italian Society of Clinical Chemistry andLaboratory Medicine (SIBioC).
This event represents an important link between IFCCYS-TF and SIBioC YS WG, demonstrating the continuum
between the IFCC YS TF and the YS belonging to the National Societies. The YS of the two groups had alreadymet in Rome during the Conference “Laboratory Medicine: meeting the needs of the Mediterranean Nations”
in July 2018, where TF-YS held a session, with the presentations by Dr. Miljan Savkovic, Guilaine Boursier,Josep Miquel Bauça, on “Inter-laboratory exchange ofknowledge and technology”, “The mentor – mentee
relationship” and “Research Perspective for Young Scientists”. Interestingly, the social dinner in front of the
Colosseum was attended by young delegates from different countries and the young winners of the Roche
Travel scholarship.
The reinforcement of the relationships between the
IFCC-TFYS and national YS groups could be an important
tool for disseminating initiatives and promoting the exchange and advancement of young professionals.

16

ACBICON
24-27 October 2018 – Kala Academy, Goa, India
by Pradeep K. Dabla
IFCC-TFYS
25 October 2018:
IFCC-TFYS organized an educational symposium,
supported by the organizing committee of the 45th
National Conference of ACBICON-2018, Kala Academy,Goa, India. The symposium entitled “Next Steps in
Lab Medicine of the Future – Young Specialists &Technology” was successful. The session’s chairs
were Prof. Maurizio Ferrari, IFCC President and Prof.
Abbas Ali Mahdi, President ACBI.

evolving in the diversity of our profession. Laboratory
medicine still attracts bright medical and scientificgraduates to work in the field. There is an actual
need to help young scientists in promoting the essential contributions of laboratory medicine at the centreof healthcare, as they represent the future of laboratory medicine.

The healthcare system is undergoing a major transformation worldwide. The clinical laboratory is seeing a rapid introduction of new technologies andrapid progress of science related to new biomarkers
for diagnosis, prognosis and response to therapy.
Both interpretation of tests and understanding thefastest and most cost effective approaches totesting is becoming a challenge. Thus, duties andresponsibilities of laboratory scientists are still

1) The state of Major Transformations in Healthcare
and Medical Laboratory by Prof. Praveen Sharma,
EB-ACBI, APFCB, IFCC.

The various topics covered were:

2) Innovations & Skills – Advancing New Delivery
Systems by Prof. Damien Gruson, EurSpeLM & Consultant IFCC-TFYS.
3) Laboratory Medicine vs. Clinical Medicine - Interface Linking by Dr. Pradeep K. Dabla, Chair IFCC-TFYS.

Article continued on next page17

4). Education & Training Programmes Opportunities –Preparing Young Scientists by Dr. Danni, IFCC-TFYS &Dir Clinical Chemistry, University of Minnesota Medical Center Fairview, USA.

and a common vision with leaders was developed. At
the end, the session was open for discussion so thatyoung scientists and participants could interact withworld leaders in order to solve their queries.

These topics covered a broad range of attributes andthrough the invaluable skills, capabilities, knowledge,
experience and diversity of the speakers a new culture

IFCC-TFYS is thankful to the ACBICON-2018 organizing
committee, to the IFCC & ACBI senior members andespecially to the young participants.

IFCC Young Scientists for Task Force Symposium
24-27 October 2018 – CALILAB, Buenos Aires, Argentina
by Santiago Fares Taie
IFCC TF-YS
The IFCC TF-YS symposium took place during the congress CALILAB in Buenos Aires between 24-27 October 2018. The Argentinean congress was the perfectsetting for a YS meeting, with more than 40 participants from all around Argentina.
The aim of the symposium was to encourage young
scientists to participate actively in laboratory medicine, as well as to get them involved in the various
activities and committees of their professional organization.

The first talk was conducted by Santiago Fares Taie,
IFCC TF-YS and consisted on the IFCC TF-YS programs
and activities.
The topics discussed were: Free webinars, Researchbooklet, Mentorship programme, Lab-Surfing.com,
Radio El Microscopio and the Professional ScientificExchange Programme (PSEP). All of these programs
are available for YS from all around the world who
are willing to communicate, network and improvetheir expertise in Laboratory Medicine.

Young Scientists at CALILAB 2018. In the centre, Santiago Fares Taie, IFCC TF-YS member and, among them,
Dr Rosa Sierra-Amor, IFCC EB, Dr Eduardo Freggiaro, IFCC CPD and CALILAB, and Dr Gernard Gouget, IFCC ETD.

Article continued on next page18

The second talk was in charge of Benjamin Barakian
from CoReBio (Argentinean National Association forLaboratory Medicine Residents).
He explained the advantages of the residency system
in Argentina and the different types of residencies
available in the country (clinical chemistry, microbiology,
immunology, toxicology, genetics).
Moreover, CoReBio coordinates plenty of academic
activities (example: congress, symposiums, meetings,

surveys, etc). Every month, all the residents are invited
to the Hospital Garrahanto in order to participate ina dynamic symposium where residents from different
hospitals share experiences and lectures.
This symposium was possible thanks to Dr. Rosa
Sierra-Amor (IFCC), Dr. Bernard Gouget (IFCC), Dr.
Nilda Fink (CALILAB) and Dr. Eduardo Freggiaro(CALILAB) that helped in the approvement and organization of this symposium, reassuring coordination with Young Scientists.

2nd Conference of SIBioC – Young Scientists Working Group (YS-WG)“Laboratory Medicine: Specialists of Tomorrow”
3 December 2018 - Rome, Italy
by Giulia Sancesario
Chair, SIBioC Young Scientist Working GroupAda Aita, Marco Perrone, Valeria D’Argenio, Massimiliano Ammirabile
Executive Board, SIBioC Young Scientist Working Group
3 December 2018 - University of Tor Vergata, in Rome,
hosted the 2nd annual Conference of the Young Scientists Working Group of the Italian Society of Clinical
Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (SIBioC YS-WG)(https://ys18.werfen-events.com/).
The conference titled “Laboratory Medicine: Specialists of Tomorrow” focused on recent advances in
Digital Health, Information Technologies and to the

New Generation of laboratory professionals, with thedevelopment of Scientific platforms and International
networks.
The Conference was organized by the Chair of the
SIBioC YS-WG, Giulia Sancesario, and the Executive
Board, Ada Aita, Marco Perrone, Valeria D’Argenio,
and Massimiliano Ammirabile, under the auspicesof the SIBioC, the European Federation of ClinicalProf. Bernardini, SIBioC President and Young Scientists
attending the 2nd Conference of SIBioC- Young Scientists Working Group (YS-WG):"Laboratory Medicine: Specialists of Tomorrow"

Article continued on next page19

Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFLM) and theInternational Federation of Clinical Chemistry andLaboratory Medicine (IFCC).
More than 100 young laboratory specialists andresidents attended the conference. After the greetings of
the SIBioC President, Prof. Sergio Bernardini, and of the
Tor Vergata University Dean, Prof. Giuseppe Novelli,Prof. Plebani opened the Conference with a lecture on“Laboratory Medicine: the Cinderella of the Health
System?”. He presented a “manifesto” for the newgeneration of laboratory professionals, encouraging
young professionals to build technical, as well as
administrative, skills to guarantee health care andpatients needs.
Big data, quality, errors and risk management witha special focus on extra-analytical phases were key
topics of scientific sessions. Furthermore, theintegration between laboratory professionals andclinicians but also the importance of the Digital Healthand of the Information Technologies in managementof the total testing process was largely treated during
the Conference, especially with the talks of Debora
Angeletti, Cristiano Ialongo and Julien Favresse.
The Conference also represented an opportunity
to meet international young scientists for a fruitfulexchange of scientific ideas and experiences. Prof.
Pradeep Kumar Dabla, via Skype from Delhi, as achair of the IFCC Task Force-Young Scientists in Lab
Medicine presented the activities of the task force(webinars, education and networking sessions inconferences, etc…).
The main aims of the IFCC YS-TF are to cross the barriers and to create a strong young scientists support
group, which actually involves more than 30 global
IFCC member countries covering global regions, including Italy.
The talk of Anna Velts-Lindh, the head of Laboratory of
the West Tallinn Central Hospital (Estonia), suggested
how to seek to have better chances at succeeding as
a young scientist.
Next, Santiago Fares Taie, via Skype from Argentina,presented the LAB SURFING (https://www.lab-surfing.
com), a platform designed for creating a community

Remark from Prof. Pradeep Kumar Dabla's talkwhere lab professionals can find colleagues all over
the world, exchange ideas, information and opportunities.
Finally, Wahid Ali, via Skype from India, shared his
experience on the Exchange Program of the IFCC (PSEP)
at Tor Vergata University Hospital, in Rome, Italy.
SIBioC supported the participation of residents, fellows
and young scientists at the conference, furthermore
Werfen offered three Travel Grants.
The Annual Conference of SIBioC YS-WG is an excellent
scientific initiative, which allows young scientists to
expand their cultural and scientific horizons, as well as
their professional growth.
SIBioC promotes the education and training for YS
though meetings and scientific conferences organized
by YS. This is clearly an added value allowing to expand
scientific interests and to work in a highly qualified andchallenging environment, supported by the Scientific
Society.

20

CONTRIBUTE TO IFCC eNEWSThe European Union In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Device Regulation 2017/746 (IVDR):
The EU In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Device Regulation 2017/746 (IVDR)
overview and implications for the future of laboratory medicine
by Gary L. Myers
Chair, Joint Committee for Traceability in Laboratory Medicine (JCTLM)
Consultant to IFCC Scientific Division
James Pierson-Perry
Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics and Corporate Member
Representative to IFCC Scientific Division
Graham H. Beastall
Chair, JCTLM WG for Traceability, Education and Promotion
INTRODUCTION
In 1998 the European Community implemented the
In Vitro Diagnostic Directive 98/79/EC (IVDD). This Directive addressed the safety, quality and performanceof in vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVDs). The aimof the Directive was to ensure that IVDs do not compromise the health and safety of patients, users andthird parties and attain the performance levels specified by the manufacturer. IVDs that are compliant
with the IVDD are awarded the respected Conformité
Européenne (CE) mark. Compliance with the IVDD became mandatory in the European Community in December 2003, since when it became established as a
global standard for IVDs.
One essential requirement of the IVDD had particular relevance for IFCC: “The traceability of values assigned to calibrators and/or control materials must
be assured through available reference measurement
procedures and/or available reference materials ofa higher order”. This requirement led to the formation in 2002 of the Joint Committee for Traceability inLaboratory Medicine (JCTLM), bringing together thesciences of metrology, laboratory medicine and laboratory quality management to help the IVD industry
meet traceability requirements of the IVDD. JCTLM
now maintains a global database of reference materials, reference methods and reference laboratory services, which are widely used by IVD manufacturers.

The database is accessible at the following link:
http://www.bipm.org/jctlm/.
PUBLICATION OF THE IVDR
Experience gained from the operation of the IVDD,
coupled with the changing nature of IVDs and laboratory medicine practice led to calls for a revision of the
IVDD. After extensive consultation the revision took
the form of a legally binding Regulation rather than a
Directive. Accordingly, the European Union In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Device Regulation 2017/746 (IVDR)
was published on 5 May 2017 [1]. The Regulation is
the most direct form of EU law and is immediately
applicable and enforceable in all Member States. Furthermore, Member States must ensure their nationallaw does not define the subject matter of the Regulation any further. This is more stringent than the earlier IVDD, which allowed for some degree of customization by each individual EU country. Therefore, it isreasonable to expect that the IVDR will become the
new global standard for IVDs.
TIMESCALE FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE IVDR
There is a five-year implementation period for the
IVDR This means that until 26 May 2022 IVD manufacturers can comply with, and make application forcompliance with, either the IVDD or the IVDR Thereafter, no CE marks based on the IVDD may be issued
and there is a two-year period of grace for exiting
Article continued on next page21

compliance with the IVDD and obtaining compliancewith the IVDR.
KEY CHANGES INCORPORATED INTO THE IVDRThe new regulation clarifies and expands the scope of
regulated IVDs to include:ÂÂ Tests providing information about the
pre-disposition of a medical condition or disease,for example genetic tests
ÂÂ Tests providing information to predict treatment response to medicines, for example companion diagnostics
ÂÂ Medical software, which is explicitly mentioned in the definition of IVDs
ÂÂ Lab developed tests (LDTs) used within healthinstitutions, which are also required to meet
safety and performance requirements
Key changes in the IVDR compared to the IVDD include:• The implementation of four risk categories– A (low risk) to D (high risk)• The introduction of a new Notified Body
Organizational Group (NBOG) codes for theNotified Bodies (NB) designated to assess
conformity with the IVDR
Examples of the risk categories are shown in Figure 1.
ÂÂ Conformity assessment routes:• These have been amended to reflect newclassification rules• More manufacturers will need to use a NB
• Approximately 20% of IVDs are currently
subject to NB approval• The number of IVDs requiring certification
by a NB is estimated to increase 4-foldunder new IVDR

ÂÂ Post-market reporting and transparency• Post-market performance follow-up (PMPF)
is a new requirement• An electronic portal will be introduced
where manufacturers can report:
ÂÂ Risk categories:□□ serious incidents and safety corrective• There is a move from a list-based approachactions
to a risk-based approach (following the□□ field safety notices and summary
Global Harmonization Task Force rules forreportsclassification) focusing on impact on the• Devices must be fitted with a unique device
Figure 1: The IVDR risk categories,
with examples
patient
identification

Figure 1(lowrisk) to D (high risk)
Examples of the A
risk
categories

Class AClass BClass CClass D

Low personal risk
Low public healthrisk

Moderate to low
personal risk, lowpublic health risk

High personal risk,
moderate to low
public health risk

High personal risk,
high public health risk

Examples:• Accessories• Wash buffers• Specimen
receptacles• Instruments• Culture media

Examples:• Thyroid function• Clinical chemistry• Self-test devices
listed as not Class C→ pregnancy,
fertility, cholesterol
test; glucose; blood
cells and bacteria in
urine

Examples:• Syphilis (diagnosis)• Neonatal screening formetabolic disorders• Rubella,• Cancer markers• Genetic tests• Companion diagnostics• Blood glucose meters• Blood gas analysers• Self tests

Examples• HIV1/2• Hepatitis C virus• Hepatitis B virus• HTLV I/II
• Blood grouping ABO(including RHW1),
Kell, Kidd and Duffy
systems• CHAGAS• Syphilis (used toscreen blood
donations)

SourceBSI
BSI 2018
2018
SourceArticle continued on next page22

IMPLICATIONS OF THE IVDRFOR IVD MANUFACTURERS
The implications of compliance with the IVDR haveraised major concerns with the IVD manufacturers.
These include:ÂÂ Effort and cost to update and maintain Technical Files• There is no ‘grandfathering’ ~80%
of manufacturers’ products will require
NB involvement to put on the market(formal submissions)• Many new standardized documents andrequirements• Difficulty in finding relevant data for old
products that will require newwork to meet the IVDR requirements• Burdensome lifecycle management (someTechnical Files need annual updates)• Estimates of GBP25-50K per product, thenongoing NB fees and post-commercial
lifecycle management costs• Creation of a major drain on internal
resources and competition for external
consultants
ÂÂ More rigorous clinical evidence is required• Manufacturers must provide evidence ofsafety and performance according toa device’s assigned risk class• If performance data are missing, theIntended Purpose will need to be limited
or additional studies will need to be
performed
ÂÂ Many literature searches will be required tosupport claims of:• Clinical performance• Scientific validity
ÂÂ New labeling requirements• Lot-to-lot variation criteria are not yet
defined, but may impact on registrations
worldwide• No agreement yet for the uniform device
interface (UDI) symbol• A requirement to submit labeling in all
lanugages where the product is sold in the EU
ÂÂ Notified Bodies• The IVDR increases the workload and scopeof NBs• NB must be designated before they cancertify the site or register products to the
IVDR• Many NB are not yet IVDR designated andare unlikely to be so until mid-2019 or later• No consulting services. NB won’t answer
questions or give guidance
due to fear of being considered‘consultants’ÂÂ Agreement between Notified NB and the EU
Commission• Groupings are not finalized for samplingof Class B and C devices• The Intended Purpose has more
requirements that need to be added
to the instructions for use (IFU), which
may impact on registrations worldwide
ÂÂ European Databank on Medical Devices(EUDAMED)• The implementation date has not yet
been communicated• The functionality of the Post-Market
Surveillance and Vigilance module of
EUDAMED database has not yet been
definedÂÂ Impact of BREXIT• ~45% of medical devices CE marked inEurope utilize UK NBs [2]• ~70% of non-EU based manufacturers
use UK NB as European Authorized
Representatives (EAR) [2]• UK-based EAR will need to move or need
new offices in a EU country• A change in the EAR address will require
updates to the NB address on productlabeling
IMPLICATIONS OF THE IVDR FOR SOCIETIESAND LABORATORY MEDICINE SPECIALISTS
The implications of the IVDR for users of IVDs may not
be as profound as for the IVD manufacturers but users
should be aware of the need for compliance with the
IVDR when selecting their analytical platforms andsystems. The IVDR is a complex piece of legislation
Article continued on next page23

and it is unreasonable to expect individual laboratory
medicine specialists to have a detailed knowledge.
Therefore, support mechanisms are required. Thesemay include:ÂÂ A role for national and international organizations (including IFCC):• In providing education and information
about the IVDR
• In monitoring and collating experience
following IVDR roll out• In working with IVD manufacturers tobetter understand IVDR implementation
The users of IVDs will have several concerns about the
impact of the IVDR on the service that they are able
to provide. Those concerns may include:ÂÂ Knowing how to find out if an IVD is IVDR
compliantÂÂ The withdrawal of current IVDs becauseof the cost or complexity of IVDR complianceÂÂ The cost of current and future IVDs
ÂÂ A delay in new IVDs reaching the market
ÂÂ The advent of non-compliant IVDs with consequent negative impact on the harmonizationof clinical laboratory results
CONCLUSIONS
We are now 18 months into the five-year implementation phase of the IVDR The IVD manufacturers are aware of the implications and have concerns
about the additional documentation and information

they will be required to provide. Those concerns areheightened by the absence of specific details about
the practical implementation of the IVDR Users of
IVDs are largely ignorant of the IVDR and its implications for them, meaning that support mechanisms
are required to ensure that they can make informed
future decisions.
The next two years provide an important window oftime for the key stakeholders to collaborate and share
information and experience. Such collaboration is essential if the overall aim of the IVDR on improving patient safety is to be realized.
REFERENCES
1. Regulation (EU) 2017/746 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2017 on
in vitro diagnostic medical devices and repealing
Directive 98/79/EC and Commission Decision
2010/227/EU. Official Journal of the European
Union 2017; 60; 176-332
2. UK Notified Body BSI Sets Out Clear PostBrexit Paths As It Goes Dutch. (2018, 10
Dec). Retrieved 10 Dec 2018 from https://pharmaintelligence.informa.com/resources/
product-content/uk-notified-body-bsi-sets-outclear-post-brexit-paths-as-it-goes-dutch
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors thank Andrea Tomko of Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Inc. for her assistance in bringing together the IVD manufacturer background input.

News from the IFCC Website
eJIFCC Vol 29 n°4 - December 2018
The fourth issue of eJIFCC for 2018 is now available. This issue incorporates thesecond part of a series of manuscripts that were presented at the conference entitled “Laboratory medicine: meeting the needs of the Mediterranean nations”,
held in Rome, between July 2-4, 2018, with professor Sergio Bernardini as theConference President. Articles address the following topics: • Improving efficiency
in laboratory medicine; • Perinatal and pregnancy laboratory medicine; • Mediterranean diet and the area’s specific diseases.
Read more24

e-Cardiology in Moscow– Connecting clinicians and technology to implement eHealth in daily practice –by Bernard Gouget
Chair, IFCC-MHBLM
Damien Gruson
EC-member IFCC-ETD
Sergio Bernardini
Chair, IFCC-ETD
Digital Health will have a great impact on the way
specialists in Lab Medicine, and medical professionals
work and interact between themselves and with theirpatients. New tools and data will change our daily
professional activities.
Sergio Bernardini, Chair IFCC-Emerging Technology
Division (ETD), D. Gruson, Member EC-ETD and Bernard Gouget chair, Committee on Mobile Health andBioengineering in Lab Medicine (C-MHBLM), wereinvited by Prof. Enrico G Caiani, PhD, Chairman ESC
WG on e-Cardiology, Instituto di Elettronica e Ingegneria del l’Informazione e delle Telecomunicazioni (IEIIT-CNR) Milano (IT), to participate at “the 5th
European congress on e-Cardiology and e-health” in
Moscow (RU), on October 29-30th 2018”, chaired byProfessor Philipp Kopylov, Sechenov University-Moscow, Head of Institute of personalized medicine andProf. Hugo Saner, Swiss Cardiovascular Centre, University Hospital Bern (CH).
The congress center was located at the Ivan Sechenov
University, in Moscow, one of the most prestigious
largest research medical university in Russia. Today,
the university has many partnerships with different
foreign universities and organizations. Its main areasof research are molecular medicine, personalized, regenerative and translational medicine. The Sechenov
University is the leader in medical education and aplatform for the development and implementation inclinical practice on e-health and e-cardiology.
This medical congress had the aim to contribute to a
successful translation from research and development
to clinical applications of digital health by bringing thevarious stakeholders together: clinicians, mathematicians, IT specialists, bioengineers, academics, economists and many others.

The scientific program was officially endorsed by theInternational Society for Telemedicine and eHealth(ISfTeH), the European Health Telematics association (EHTEL), and the Russian Societies of cardiology,
heart failure, arterial hypertension, and Clinical electrophysiology and cardio-stimulation.
This event provided multilateral dialogue clinicallyoriented on the development and implementation ofmodern and digital technologies. For the first time,
IFCC gave its auspices at a medical event on e-cardiology contributing to build a stronger bridge connectingwith clinicians, other key stakeholders and representatives of the major Cardio device Companies.
It was interesting to discover at the exhibition, theminiaturization trends with cardiology devices, as
the new leadless pacemakers, the novel design ofstents, the new heart-monitoring and wireless devices. Cardiology remains the second-biggest medical device area.
It was also surprising to see that many bio-medical
companies are moving from strictly being a manufacturer to a service provider helping health systems
to better manage populations (i.e., instead of beinga device maker, biomedical companies are becominga management company targeting chronic diseases)
The e-Cardiology congress covered a wide area ofspecialized computer methods in cardiovascular image processing, computational knowledge discovery,
artificial intelligence, intelligent data analysis, bio-signal processing, signal modelling, databases, intra- andinter-hospital communication, e-health and mobile
applications, and predictive models development.
It was really the perfect infrastructure for the IFCC-ETD
team to interact on the topic “Smartphone as a lab”.
Article continued on next page25

Prof. Bernardini presented an update on POCT for cardiac biomarkers, Dr. Gouget paved the way for e-laboratory medicine and Prof. Gruson discussed the smart
digital lab and new applications in cardiology.
The interdisciplinary nature of this conference provided a niche to discuss up-to-date technological applications representing an added value on the EDT actions.
It allowed to establish productive collaborations withclinical and bioengineering associations.
It was also an opportunity to reinforce our knowledge
on the emerging field of e-Health, including patientmanagement and monitoring of «implanted» devices, telehealth and telepresence, mobile apps development and evaluation, patient empowerment anddigital health literacy, and big data analytics.
The IFCC team enjoyed Moscow after the session. It
was impossible to miss the beautiful historic Metroand the Red Square, heart and soul of Russia and themost famous landmark of the city with its fantastic
sights such as the St Basil’s Cathedral as well as the
symbolic Great Bell Tower and the Lenin Mausoleum. We strolled around the Kremlin to appreciate
its fantastic sights such as the Assumption Cathedral
which held the ceremonies of Tsars and Emperors;
also visited the Bosco Café inside the historic shopping mall GUM, totally illuminated during the winterfestivities!
Before departing, a social dinner has hosted at the
Caucasian restaurant “Sherwood” with Prof. Oleg
Medvedev from the Lomonosov Moscow State University, allowing us to force the boundaries of cardiovascular science discovering the values of Vodka suchas preventing clots, strokes and other heart diseases,…, if consumed with moderation!

IFCC participants to the 5th European Congress on e-Cardiology and e-health
L-R: Dr D. Gruson (BE) ETD EC member, Dr B. Gouget (FR), C-MHBLM Chair, Prof. S. Bernardini (IT), ETD Chair

26

University of Zimbabwe - external examiners
by Tomris Ozben
IFCC Executive Board Member, Treasurer
IFCC Foundation for Emerging Nations,
Member of the Board of Directors
Several International Universities are appointing International Academicians as External Examiners, Lecturers and Supervisors for all programs including undergraduate (BA’s and B.Sc.) and Post-graduate (M.Sc.
and Ph.D.) degree programs. One of them is the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) in Harare.
The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) Senate approved
and appointed me as the External Examiner for the
Post-Graduate programs upon the proposal of the
Department of Chemical Pathology, College of Health
Sciences on October 17th, 2017 for the M.Sc. and on
October 31, 2018 for the Ph.D. students.
According to the term of reference, the first year, I
reviewed the exam questions of the M.Sc. students
and in 2018, I attended the Departmental Panel ofthe Examiners’ meeting held on November 20th,2018 for the dissertation of four M.Sc. students. In
addition, I reviewed the thesis of a Ph.D. student andsubmitted my written report prepared according to
the regulations.
During my visit to the University of Zimbabwe, I participated in several events and delivered my talks on
the related topics. One of them was the launch of a
campaign on CANCER NUTRIETICS organized by the
Zimbabwe Association of Clinical Biochemistry (ZACB)
with the honorable presence of Zimbabwe Ministerof Health.
The campaign received a great interest by the media
including interviews with me and the ZACB President
for several Newspapers and a TV program named“Good Morning Zimbabwe”. In addition, I delivered aguest lecture on “Liquid Profiling” at the Zimbabwe
University.
On this occasion, I would like to give you some information about the Zimbabwe University and external
examiners.

UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWEThe University of Zimbabwe (UZ) in Harare, is theoldest and top ranked university in Zimbabwe. It was
founded through a special relationship with the University of London and it opened its doors to its firststudents in 1952. The university has ten faculties (Agriculture, Arts, Commerce, Education, Engineering,Law, Science, Social Studies, Veterinary Sciences andCollege of Health Sciences) offering a wide variety ofdegree programs in many specialized research centers
and institutes. The university is accredited throughthe National Council for Higher Education, under the
Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education. English is
the language of teaching.
UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES
The College of Health Sciences, commonly known as
the Medical School, was initially established in 1963,
under the auspices of the University of Birmingham,
United Kingdom. The College of Health Sciences has
undergone significant growth and expansion. It is
the leading training institution for health professionals in Zimbabwe. It currently offers degree programsin Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing, Medical
Laboratory Sciences, Rehabilitation, Radiology and
Health Education & Health Promotion.
The College is home to 21 teaching departments,
one School and one Institute of Continuing Health
Education offering a wide variety of educational,
research and career options within the context ofhealth care.
The Institute of Continuing Health Education in theCollege caters for the special postgraduate training
and continuing health education needs for all thehealth professionals.
Article continued on next page27

Prof. T. Ozben, External Examiner, Harare University of Zimbabwe, along with some students

The College of Health Sciences is committed to thetraining of Health Care Delivery personnel to meetthe health needs of the people of Zimbabwe. Training
is geared towards primary health care with emphasis
on a preventive rather than curative approach.
As an institute of higher learning, the College takes
academic excellence as the hallmark of its existence.
To that extent, the College encourages the promotion and enhancement of science through relevant
research.
Vision statement
ÂÂ To be a reference and international leader forteaching, training, research in Africa and beyondin evidence-based training, innovative student
learning and health care delivery.
Mission statement
ÂÂ To provide an environment for evidence
based, high quality, community oriented andcommunity driven training and learning of healthprofessionals. To be a clinical and research centerof excellence and source of high-quality healthconsultancy services.
Postgraduate programs
ÂÂ The University of Zimbabwe offers postgraduate honors degrees; master’s degree and doctoral degrees.
ÂÂ Postgraduate honors programs, also known
as special honors programs incorporate coursework, examinations and a compulsory projectmodule.
ÂÂ Master’s degrees by coursework and projectare designated M.Sc. and are of one to two years
duration. They incorporate coursework and project modules.
ÂÂ Master’s degrees by research thesis are designated M.Phil. and require a minimum of two
years study.
ÂÂ The doctoral program, D.Phil., is by researchthesis. Students who are carrying out an M.Phil.
study, but have not yet submitted their thesis,
Article continued on next page28

may apply to their faculty to upgrade their study
to the D.Phil. program.
Purposes and functions of external examinersÂÂ The General Academic Regulations of the
University provide appointment of External Examiners to moderate all formal examinations for
all programs including undergraduate (BA’s andBSc) and postgraduate degree (MSc and PhD)
programs.
ÂÂ The University normally appoints External
Examiners for a three-year cycle during which
the External Examiners moderate examination
papers every year, but visit the institution every
other year to participate in the examination
process.
ÂÂ Appointment of External Examiners is madeby the Senate on the recommendations of the
Departmental Boards based on the high academic standing and CV.
Selection, appointment and period of serviceof external examinersÂÂ Nominations from Departmental Boards
should be accompanied by an outline of the proposed External Examiner’s credentials. Nominations should be made only after the Chairpersonof Department has secured the agreement of the
proposed External Examiner.
ÂÂ Only persons of sufficient seniority andexperience to be able to command authority andoffer the expertise required should be appointed.

ÂÂ to act as an independent source of assessment in subjects not only confirming or amending the internal marks, but also commenting andgiving advice on course content, balance andstructure of the degree programs and assessment procedures;ÂÂ to moderate borderline cases between ‘pass’and ‘fail’ and between different grades within themarking scheme and to help adjudicate in casesof conflicting marking;ÂÂ to confer with the panels of Internal Examiners and assist the panels in preparing recommendations for appropriate Boards of Examiners.
The External Examiner with the concurrence of
the Chief Examiner (normally the Chairperson of
Department), may call students for a viva voce
examination;
ÂÂ to attend, whenever possible, and advise theappropriate Board(s) of Examiners;
ÂÂ The above functions must be carried out withregard to the University’s General Academic Regulations and Regulations for Specific Programs.
The main duties of an external examiners
ÂÂ to evaluate all forms of assessment which
contribute to the students’ degree results;
ÂÂ to evaluate, and to ensure fairness andconsistency in the assessment process;ÂÂ to moderate assessed work at module andprogram level;ÂÂ An External Examiner should not normally
be appointed from a department or University
or institution where a member of the inviting
department is serving as an examiner.
ÂÂ Normally, there is only one visiting External
Examiner for a Department.
ÂÂ External Examiners from outside the country
will be invited to visit the Departments during
the sessional examinations every other year during their period of appointment.
The functions of external examiners
ÂÂ to ensure that the assessment system is fairand fairly operated in classification of students inline with international practice;

Panel of the Examiners’ meeting held on November 20, 2018
for the dissertation of four M.Sc. students.

Article continued on next page29

ÂÂ to comment on draft examination papers andassessment tasks as appropriate;ÂÂ to report on the structure, content, academic
standards and teaching of programs;
ÂÂ to comment on any alleged cases of assessment irregularities.
Review of question papers
ÂÂ The External Examiner shall be asked toreview the draft questions to check if they areappropriate for the examinations for which they
are prepared.
ÂÂ The External Examiner may propose amendments to any examination questions and return
his comments to the Chairperson of Department
under strict confidential cover through a courier
within two weeks of having received the draft
questions.

ÂÂ The department concerned shall makeproposed amendments in the question papers
before they are printed, packaged and sealed.
Report from external examiners
ÂÂ Each External Examiner is requested to provide a confidential written report at the end of
his examining duties to the Vice Chancellor via
e-mail and not to the Chairpersons of Departments or anyone else.
ÂÂ External Examiners are encouraged to makeany comments they wish, including observations
on teaching, course structure and course content, as well as the examinations themselves.
Travel and accommodation arrangements
The Examinations Office will make all travel and accommodation bookings for External Examiners. The
visits should not exceed a maximum of four days.

Prof. T. Ozben, External Examiner, Harare University of Zimbabwe, with examiners colleagues and authorities

30

NEWS FROM REGIONAL FEDERATIONS AND MEMBER SOCIETIESNews from the Argentine Biochemistry Foundation (FBA)The X CALILAB 2018 Congressby Rosa Sierra-AmoreNews Member
Regional Representative, IFCC EB
Nilda Fink
Chair, Scientific Committee - CALILAB 2018
The X CALILAB 2018 Congress organized by the Argentine Biochemistry Foundation, (FBA in Spanish)
had the auspices of CUBRA, IFCC National society, andtook place in the city of Buenos Aires on October 2427, 2018, at the recently opened Convention Centre.
The success of this 10th edition was the result of ahighly scientific program and academic level.
The attendance of 2,000 participants, 660 professionals registered for the courses, a record of 275
abstracts summited and the participation of 30 diagnostic companies in the Lab Expo as sponsors was
so well received. The activities proposed by the industry offered several alternatives for participants
attending to an enriching experience on four days of
the Congress.
The opening ceremony was attended by numerous
colleagues, and various institutions as the IFCC, COLABIOCLI, Foundation José Luis Castaño, and Unified
Confederation of Biochemistry of the Republic Argentina (CUBRA), among others. (Photo)
Dr. Nilda Fink highlighted the team work carried out bymembers of the Scientific Committee, among whom
18 invited from different countries, Brazil, Canada,
Colombia, Paraguay and Uruguay. It should be noted that through the IFCC-Abbott VLP Program threeleading experts, Dr. Rosa Sierra-Amor, Prof. Maurizio
Ferrari and Dr. Bernard Gouget participated this year.
Also, with the economic support of the Foundation

José Luis Castaño from Spain, the participation of Dr.
Yayhoui and Dr. Queraltó Compaño became possible
as well.
Dr. Claudio Duymovich, President FBA and the Organizing Committee of the Congress stressed the factthat professionals were very committed to quality andnoted that CALILAB was for all, laboratories of urban
centers up to those far away in Argentina, a unique
opportunity to be updated in a world of technologicalchanges.
The Congress Opening Lecture was given by Dr. Khosrow Adeli, a renowned Canadian specialist, Chairmanof the Committee of Communications and Publicationsof the IFCC, and Professor of Clinical Biochemistry at“The Hospital for Sick Children”, University of Toronto,
Canada: “Value and impact of the clinical laboratory inhealth care”.
In addition, the scientific program included two plenary lectures, 18 simultaneous conferences and 18
symposia. As part of the Educational program, there
were 6 pre-Congress courses, 3 courses intra-congress
and 9 workshops. An important number of approved
abstracts were presented in the program as free communications.
During the closing ceremony, the following awards
were given:
Article continued on next page31

Opening Ceremony CALILAB 2018.
L-R: Prof. Maurizio Ferrari, Past-President IFCC; Rosa Sierra-Amor, IFCC Regional Representative COLABIOCLI;
Nilda Fink, Chair, Scientific Committee; Claudio Duymovich, President FBA;
Stella Raymondo, President COLABIOCLI; Alejandra Arias, President CUBRA

1st Place: Towards harmonization of molecular diagnostic methods: burden of Epstein-Barr virus in Argentina II-first international standard WHO-EBV calibration strategies.
By Fellner, MD, Durand KA, Rodriguez MA, Irazu L,
Picconi MA. Grupo de estudio diagnóstico de EBV
en Argentina- Laboratorio Nacional de Referencia de
EBV-ANLIS “Carlos G. Malbrán”.
2nd Place: Development and preliminary validation ofa method of inmunotransparencia applicable to thediagnosis of Multiple sclerosis.
By Facio ML, García M, Alejandre M, Yasuda E, Bresciani P. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica de la Universidad de Buenos Aires.

3rd Place: Reference intervals of new parameters inblood of a pediatric population.
By Benavides C, García RV, Goedelmann CJ, González
Cid MP, Sala MC, Chaler EA, Durando MC. Hospital de
Pediatría Garrahan.
As well, seven honorary diplomas were given to very
high-quality abstract presentations. And the COCERBIN
award was given to:
Towards harmonization of molecular diagnostic methods. Load of Epstein - Barr virus in Argentina IV, newapproaches to the performance of multicenter.
By Rodríguez MA, Irazu L, Fellner MD, Durand KA,
Picconi MA, Laboratorio Nacional de Referencia,
EBV-ANLIS “Carlos G. Malbrán”.

32News from Pakistan:"Promoting research in the area of vitamin D"
A course held under the auspices of the IFCC
by Sibtain Ahmed
Consultant Chemical Pathologist,
Aga Khan University (AKU), Karachi, Pakistan
Vitamin D (25OHD) deficiency affects over one billion
people worldwide. For decades, adequate circulating
25OHD levels are considered essential for maintenance of bone health and the discovery of vitamin D
receptor (VDR) on almost every tissue of the body has
broadened the horizon for conducting research in thisarea. In the literature there is evidence of high rates
of vitamin D deficiency in Pakistan despite appreciable levels of sunshine. Despite adequate research
activities in the diverse fields of vitamin D study inPakistan, large knowledge gaps and wide unexplored
areas with unanswered questions for the passionate
researchers persist.

2018. The course took place at the main AKU campus
under the auspices of IFCC and Pakistan Society ofChemical Pathologists (PSCP). The course was promoted through electronic and social media platforms aswell as flyers distributed to various institutes and hospitals to ensure maximum participation.

In order to address the growing need of research in thismultifaceted area the Research Group of our institute‘Bone and Mineral Diseases Research Group’ in collaboration with the departments of Community Health
Sciences and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, AKU,
Karachi, Pakistan held a course titled “Promoting Research in the Area of Vitamin D” on November 14-16,

The course was organized by Dr. Romaina Iqbal (Associate Professor Community Health Sciences AKU)
in collaboration with Dr. Aysha Habib Khan (Associate
Professor & section head Clinical Chemistry AKU). The
course faculty and the 16 pre-registered participantsof the course came from a variety of background including clinicians, public health professionals, representatives from the ministry of health and basic biological scientists. The course was designed as a fullday course spread over a period of 3 days and 13 CME
credit hours were awarded. The program was basedon talks by eminent experts of the country, group activity sessions followed by group presentations, debates and discussions among the participants andParticipants of the course busy in taking the pre test

Computer session: online libraries for literature search
Article continued on next page33

faculty on various research related issues and brain
storming of ideas how to address the knowledge gaps.
Day 1 of the course was held in the tutorial roomsof the beautiful Jumma Building at AKU main campus
in Karachi. There was a formal inaugural session withthe welcome note by Dr. Romaina Iqbal followed bya formal introductory session of all participants andfaculty. In the beginning a pre-test was given by participants followed by the first talk of the day from Dr.
Lena Jafri (Assistant Professor Clinical Chemistry AKU).
She discussed the physiology of vitamin D focusing on
production, sources, metabolism, mechanism of action as well as the pathological consequences. Her
session was interactive, and the participants worked
in pairs. Dr. Aysha Habib Khan followed and gave an
Insight on a Pakistani perspective of research in thearea of vitamin D. She emphasized on the still existing
gaps that and the neglected areas. The course attendees were then taken to the computer lab where Mr.
Khawaja Mustafa (Faculty of Health Sciences Library)taught them about the use of various online libraries
including PubMed and Pakmedinet etc., to strengthen their literature search. The lunch break was followed by a highly informative session on food fortification with Vitamin D Program in Pakistan presented

by Dr. Abid Sheikh (Provincial Program Manager-Food
Fortification Program Nutrition International). The
highlights of the final hours of the day were a talkby Dr. Romaina Iqbal on how to formulate a researchquestion and participants worked in groups to comeup with a research question of their own. The groupsessions were chaired by Dr. Sibtain Ahmed (Senior
Instructor and Consultant Clinical Chemistry AKU), Dr.
Hafsa Majid (Senior Instructor and Consultant Clinical
Chemistry AKU) and Dr. Lena Jafri.
The next morning began with a talk on Integrated
Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness (IMNCI) program in Pakistan and its linkage with Vitamin
D deficiency by Dr. Khadija Humayun (Associate professor Pediatrics AKU). The next hour was based on apresentation addressing Vitamin D related outcomes
and its influence on fracture management due to osteoporosis by Dr. Shahryar Noordin (Associate professor Orthopedic surgery AKU). These two sessions
produced a variety of ideas by the participants for potential research questions. The following lecture wasby Dr. Fazal Arain (Assistant Professor Basic Biological Sciences AKU) who taught about various methods
that can be utilized for in-vivo and in-vitro biochemical testing of vitamin D and potential research topics

Group photograph of course participants and faculty
Article continued on next page34

were discussed. The attendees learned about thevarious study designs and specific population-based
studies by Dr. Romaina Iqbal. Lunch was followed bya talk by Dr. Hafsa Majid about the cutoffs used forinterpretation of biochemical levels of vitamin D. She
discussed various guidelines followed by a debate
regarding development of cutoffs in Pakistani population and the formation of taskforces and working
groups to fill the gaps. The participants were thentaught by Dr. Romaina Iqbal how to translate theirresearch questions. The participants then assembled
in their previously set up groups; and resumed workon their overnight research questions and developed
their own theories.
The final day initiated with a dialogue on surrogatesof vitamin D and enigmas of Vitamin D deficiency inPakistan by Dr. Aysha Habib Khan. With the shifting
paradigms of deficiency to vitamin D toxicity and its
consequences, the next talk by Dr. Qamar Masood(Associate Professor and Consultant Endocrinologist

AKU) addressed this issue. As budget and finances are
an integral part of any research study the next session
was focused on the budget plan development by Mr.
Yaser Arafat (Assistant Manager Community Health
Sciences AKU). Following lunch, the participants
disseminated in clusters and were given an hour torefine their research proposals with the addition ofbudget and timelines.
Each group then presented their proposal and thefaculty and fellow participants were asked to criticize
and present their mistakes aimed at fine-tuning of
proposals. The purpose of this group activity was topromote collaboration and sharing of ideas which canbe further pursued as potential research projects. The
course was concluded with thanks and appreciationby the chief guest Dr. Imran Siddiqui (Professor Clinical Chemistry AKU) and participants were awarded
certificates. Feedback was also recorded from participants after each session which will lead to constructive planning of more similar courses in the future.

The 3rd Regional Workshop ISO 15189 for Latin America and the Caribbean
Quito, Ecuador
26-28 September 2018by Rosa Sierra-AmoreNews Member
Regional Representative, IFCC EB
Thamara Andrade
Workshop Coordinator, President SEBIOCLI

Speakers of the Regional Workshop in Latin America
and the Caribbean – Ecuador 2018.
L-R: Leonardo Aguirre (Chile), Klever Saenz (Ecuador),Roberto Carboni (Chile), Rosa Sierra-Amor (Mexico),Thamara Andrade (Ecuador), Manfred Kindler (Germany),
and Sandra Quintana (Mexico)

The 3rd Regional Workshop of Latin American and the
Caribbean: interpretation of critical requirements of
ISO 15189:2012 took place In Quito – Ecuador, on 26,
27 and 28 September 2018 with the participation of
speakers from Chile, Mexico, Germany and Ecuador.
This event was broadcasted from the Simon Bolivar Andean University – Ecuador branch, which was the hostvenue, to the National University Network for Researchand Education (REUNA) from the University in Santiago de Chile, and then to the countries connected: Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile, Honduras,
Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Article continued on next page

35

This event was organized in conjunction with the
Chilean Society of Clinical Chemistry, the EcuadorianSociety of Clinical Biochemistry, and the EcuadorianSociety of Clinical Pathology. Auspices were provided
by the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in
Germany, and the International Cooperation Agencyof Germany. The academic Aval was from the University of San Francisco in Quito.
The three symposia organized and transmitted by Live
Stream to Latin American and the Caribbean were:“Management of the uncertainty of measurement,
mandatory requirement of ISO 15189:2012” in which
the application and usefulness of the estimation of
the uncertainty of measurement, the models proposed to estimate uncertainty, the calculation of theuncertainty and total analytical error permissible andacceptable uncertainty for different measurementsintervals. were raised Recommendation on this was
the use of the NORDEST model for the estimation of
the uncertainty, obtaining the source data in the intermediate precision of long term and the calculationof the ‘bias’ using data from the inter-comparison.

“Traceability and uncertainty of the reference material; responsibility of manufacturers and suppliers ofin vitro diagnostic reagents”. In this symposium, thefollowing was discussed: the use of reference materials, their availability and characteristics; the responsibility of the laboratories in the selection of suppliers; and, the responsibility of providers of diagnostic
reagents and external quality assessment programs.
Recommendation regarding this issue, was the use ofreagents where the uncertainty of the reference andmaterial was included in the kit insert of each reagent;
with respect to external quality assessment schemes,
it was recommended to accompany the supplier during the implementation of the service, evaluating thecompetence of the staff, and programs that are accredited or aligned to the standard ISO 17043.
“Committee ISO TC 212, membership of countries
in the region, committees ISO TC 212, proceduresof approval and revision of standards ISO mirror”
The experience of Chile and Mexico was presented
in this third symposium. The recommendation was
to ensure the participation of the largest number ofcountries in the region in ISO TC 212 or its counterpart

Venues participating at the 3rd Regional Workshop ISO 15189 for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Ecuador 2018, that included professional societies, accrediting bodies and institutes of metrology in the region.

Article continued on next page36

ad hoc committee in the country, also that the accrediting agency was settled by representatives of scientific and professional societies in clinical laboratory
sciences and laboratory medicine within the respective technical committee.
The topic “Competency requirements for leaders,assessors, and peer and technical experts in accreditation based on ISO /IEC 17011:2017” was also discussed. In this case, the importance of having a profile that should be designed and implemented by theaccrediting agencies was discussed. In this regard, theChilean society of Clinical Chemistry (SChQC) presented an example of profile for the assessor that was put
it into consideration for the scientific societies in theregion. The need of assessors having sufficient experience in the clinical laboratory, and not only limited
to search non-conformities with respect to the listof standard´s requirements was mentioned; stating
that, they must identify critical points according to a
new mentality of thinking on risk.
Finally, the results of three surveys that were sent to
non-accredited clinical laboratories in the region, as

well as accredited clinical laboratories and national
accreditation bodies were discussed. Upon requestof all the participating countries, it was decided toprolong until the end of this year the deadline to deliver the surveys, so the final result and analysis remain pending.
In the workshop, there were 137 people participating
actively and interacting with the speakers. This event
was available to the general public who had free access, so they could connect and follow the event fromany computer; in addition, this event was transmitted
in Facebook. After the symposia, the forum was open
for questions.
We believe that we have fulfilled the objective of thisworkshop, making progress on the harmonizationof the criteria for the interpretation of the technicalrequirements of ISO 15189:2012 in the region, thus
improving the competence of medical laboratories.
Surely, we will meet in a next workshop, where space
will be given to training, discussion and agreements inorder to advance on this regard.

FOR SOMETHING GREATER
Announcing the 1st Annual UNIVANTS of Healthcare
Excellence Award, celebrating teams of UNIFIERS who
have applied AVANT-GARDE approaches to achievemeasurably better healthcare outcomes.
Learn more and apply for the UNIVANTS of Healthcare
Excellence Award at UnivantsHCE.com.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

© 2018 Abbott Laboratories

37

News from the Japanese Societyof Clinical Chemistry (JSCC)
Academic Award of JSCC 2018
by Hideo Sakamotoi
International Exchange Committee of JSCC
The Academic Award of Japan Society of Clinical
Chemistry (JSCC) is given to a person who has madeoutstanding academic research in clinical chemistry.
In 2018, Mikio Watanabe MD, PhD is the awardee of
this award. The award presentation ceremony washeld at the 58th Annual Meeting of JSCC in Nagoya,Japan, on August 24-26, 2018. There, Dr. Watanabe
was congratulated by Dr. Masato Maekawa, President of JSCC, for his outstanding work in clinicalchemistry.
In this issue, we would like to briefly introduce. Dr.
Watanabe and his outstanding work.
Mikio Watanabe, MD, PhD works at the Departmentof Biomedical Informatics and Center for Twin Research, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine. The title of his awarded study is “Clinical application of genetic and epigenetic information forlaboratory medicine”.
Almost all the phenotypes or clinical valuables including the value of clinical laboratory tests will be affected by both genetic and epigenetic factors. Many genetic differences such as gene polymorphisms havebeen reported as important factors associating withthe susceptibility and prognosis of diseases. However, genetic factors do not always explain phenotypes
fully.
Dr. Watanabe found that some identical twins are
discordant for the development of thyroid-specificautoantibody such as anti-thyroglobulin antibody(TgAb). The methylation levels at particular DNA sites
in these identical twins were associated with their
TgAb development. This indicates that the development of TgAb (and, possibly, other autoantibodiesalso) will be affected by both specific epigenetic factors and specific genetic backgrounds.

Dr. Mikio Watanabe

Similarly, some healthy identical twins show different
HbA1c values. This can be explained at least partiallyby the different DNA methylation levels at particular
DNA sites under the specific genetic backgrounds.
Thus, again, both genetic and epigenetic factors affectthe HbA1c level, whereas the life style should contribute to the HbA1c level significantly. Dr. Watanabe saysthat prediction of the future level of HbA1c or otherlaboratory tests of a person can be possible when epigenetic differences are taken into consideration.
Dr. Watanabe’s valuable work will contribute to thedevelopment of new laboratory tests based on epigenetic research.

38

News from the Société Française
de Biologie Clinique (SFBC)
SFBC - Change of the guard
by Bernard Gouget
International Relations SFBC-TF
PRESIDENT: Prof. Vincent SAPIN
He is Head of “Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics” Laboratory and “Medical Biology and Pathology” Department at the CHU of Clermont-Ferrand (Auvergne Rhône-Alpes Region). Among all his scientific activities focusedon biomarkers research and development, he is responsible for several studies on the S100 protein and more
precisely for the study concerning S100 interests on the concussions of the French Rugby Federation (FFR) andthe National Rugby League (LNR). There is a global research agenda on the subject. The concussion, and its consequences on the health of the players, has become a major problem in rugby, as in many other collective andindividual sports. The challenge is to protect the health and physical integrity of players, and in case of sports
injury to determine the conditions for returning to play after a concussion. As Head of a university research teamcalled “Translational Approach of Epithelial Injury and Repair”, he also develops pathophysiological strategies
based on the Receptor of Advanced Glycation End Products (RAGE) in order to improve diagnosis, prognosis
and therapeutics of frequent human diseases as Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome or Premature Rupture of
Membranes.
EXECUTIVE BOARD:
Vice-President: LEHMANN Sylvain
Past-President: DELPECH Marc
General Secretary: ANNAIX Veronique
Deputy General Secretary: BAUDIN Bruno
Treasurer: CHATRON Philippe
Scientific Committee, Co-Chairs: PEOC’H Katell and COLLIN-CHAVAGNAC Delphine
SPECIFIC TASK FORCES:
Continuous Training: Fabrice GUERBER / AUGEREAU- VACHER Christine
National Professional Council of Medical Biology: AIMONE-GASTIN Isabelle
Annales de Biologie Clinique, Editor in Chief: PIERONI Laurence
Liaisons with hospital organizations: GAUDEAU-TOUSSAINT Marie-Françoise / Carole POUPONInternational Relations: GOUGET Bernard / GILLERY Philippe / VAUBOURDOLLE Michel
Young Scientists: BOURSIER Guilaine

SFBC Secretary:

39

News from the Royal Belgian Societyof Laboratory Medicine (RBSLM)
A new President to leadthe Interdisciplinary Annual Meetingby Etienne CavalierPresident, Royal Belgian Society of Laboratory Medicine
This annual meeting was the first one of the new board of the Royal Belgian Society Laboratory Medicine andof its new President, Prof. Etienne Cavalier, and welcomed more than a hundred twenty participants from thewhole country. Prof. Cavalier, from the C.H.U de Liège, is a worldwide expert in bone and mineral metabolism

The meeting took place in the heart of Brussels

and leading the related committee on standardization and harmonization of the IFCC.
Prof. Cavalier will pursue the work on interactions with clinicians
initiated by the former presidents Prof. M. Langlois and P. Vermeersch. This year, the annual meeting was focusing on thyroid
and the opportunity of interdisciplinary exchanges with the Belgian
Thyroid Club (http://www.thyroidclub.be/) coordinated by Prof.
Rodrigo Moreno. Thyroid tests are highly prescribed in Belgium
with more than 6 million TSH tests and 4 million Free T4 tests eachyear and their performances impact directly clinical decisions. A
strong collaboration between clinical biologists and clinicians allow
defining the most appropriated decision limits and to anticipate
interferences matters and prevent misdiagnosis.
Prof. Etienne Cavalier opening the meeting

The morning session therefore reviewed multiple trends suchas the evolution of thyroid function tests by Prof. Kathleen van
Article continued on next page40

Uytfanghe, the decision limits and reference intervals
by Prof. Bernard Corvilain, interferences and thyroid
testing by Prof. Fleur Wolff and the relationship between thyroid autoimmunity and infertility presented
by Prof. David Unuane.

for the evolution of the quality of POCT in Belgium.
Prof. Christophe Stove, Prof. Nathalie De Vos and Prof.
Marie-Pierre Hayette conclude this annual meetingby presenting perspectives for patient self-testing andthe evolution of the legal frame in Belgium.

The afternoon session focused on current trends for
rapid testing with lectures from Prof. Erna Lenters-Westra about the evolution and challenges of point of caretesting for HbA1c measurement, Dr. Arnaud Capron

The meeting was also the opportunity to award the
young scientists Caroline Le Goff (CHU Liège), Pieter
De Kesel (UGent) and Yannick Wouters (KU Leuven)for best abstracts prices.

Clinicians and lab specialists for the round tableon Thyroid function tests

The RBSLM awarded 4 young trainees
for the best proposed abstracts

News from the Macedonian Society of Medical Biochemistry
and Laboratory Medicine (MSMBLM)
26th Congress of Balkan Clinical Laboratory Federation (BCLF)
and 6th National Congress of MSMBLM
by Danica Labudovic
President, MSMBLM
President, Organizing Committee for the 26th BCLF Congress
The 26th Congress of the Balkan Clinical Laboratory
Federation (BCLF) and the 6th National Congress of
the Macedonian Society of Medical Biochemistry andLaboratory Medicine (MSMBLM) was held from 3rd
to 5th of October 2018 in Skopje and it was organized
by MSMBLM. This Association organizes the Congressof BCLF for the fourth time.
The Congress was organized under the auspices of theInternational Federation of Clinical Chemistry (IFCC),
European Federation of Laboratory Medicine (EFLM)

as well as Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje
and Medical Faculty in Skopje.
Thirteen invited plenary speakers from Norway, Italy,
France, USA, Slovenia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece,
and R. Macedonia presented their lectures at theCongress as well as 32 lecturers with their 15-minuteoral presentations from all Balkan countries: Albania,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Romania, Turkey, Montenegro, and the host country R.
Macedonia. Sixty-nine participants from the Balkan
Article continued on next page41

countries and from other European countries andCanada presented their e-posters. A total of 260 participants attended the Congress.
At the Opening ceremony, on 3rd of October, Prof. Dr.
Danica Labudovic, President of MSMBLM and President of the Organizing Committee of the 26th BCLF
Congress and Prof. Dr. Jozo Choric, BCLF President had
their opening speeches. The guests and participantsof the Congress were welcomed by the Rector of the
Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Prof. Dr.
Nikola Jankulovski, the Dean of the Medical Facultyin Skopje, Prof. Dr. Sonja Topuzovska, the Dean of theFaculty of Pharmacy in Skopje, Prof. Dr. Svetlana Kulevanova, and the Minister of Health of R. Macedonia,
Prof. Dr. Venko Filipche.
This BCLF Congress was traditionally enriched with ashort music program. The Harflea quartet played a remix of Macedonian traditional folk songs. The Opening ceremony continued with the exceptionally interesting 45-minute scientific lecture of Prof. Dr. Sverre
Sandberg from Norway, EFLM representative. His lecture was entitled “The challenging of POC Testing”.
Both working days of the Congress (Thursday and Friday) were characterized by a very tight schedule of
lectures, beginning from 8.30 am and finishing at 6.30
pm on Thursday and at 6.00 pm on Friday.
The first morning session on Thursday (4th Oct), entitled Harmonization and standardization in laboratory working was opened by Prof. Giuseppe Lippi
from Italy who spoke about EFLM strategy for harmonization of the preanalytical phase. This lecture
was followed by presentations on: causes of analytical errors and mechanisms for their detection (Dr.
Vera Lukic from Serbia), standardization and harmonization of laboratory diagnostics in chronic kidneydiseases (Dr. Vanja Radishik BIljak, Croatia), accreditation of medical laboratories (Irini Leimoni, Greece)
and clinical chemistry in R. Macedonia (Prof. Dr. Jasna Bogdabnska from R. Macedonia).
After the coffee break, one-hour lecture entitled “SixSigma QC Design and Risk assessment for QC Frequency” was given by Prof. Sten Westgard (USA) where hespoke about the control of laboratory working quality.

Then professional presentations followed suggestedby the firms – sponsors of the Congress.
The afternoon session began with the lecture on thepathophysiology of protein carbamylation (Prof. Phillipe Gillery from France), followed by the lecture on
biomarkers in macular degeneration (Christos Kroupis from Greece), ST2 – a novel biomarker in ESRD(Prof. Evgenija Homshak from Slovenia), associationof resistin and CKD (Jelena Munjas from Serbia), urinary nephrin – a biomarker in detection of diabetic
nephropathy (Assist. Prof. Irena Kostovska from Macedonia), the effect of NaF on the expression genes inrenal cell line (Assist. Prof. Semiha Dede from Turkey),
and determination of methyl-glyoxal with UPLC (Assist. Prof. Abdullah Sivirkaya from Tureky).
Endocrinology was the topic of Session 3 on Thursday, and the first lecturer Assist. Prof. Milena Velizarova from Bulgaria spoke about thrombocytopenia in
pregnancy; then, Prof. Sonja Kuzmanovska from R.
Macedonia spoke about thyroid tests in pregnancy;
Dr. Nela Rasheta from Bosnia and Hercegovina presented her lecture on PTH and BMD in hyperparathyroidism; Dr. Sci. Aleksandara Atanasova Bosku from R.
Macedonia had a presentation on adipokine and insulin resistance in women with POS, and Tamer Begofrom Bosnia and Herzegovina on genetic variants in
the BIH population with diabetes mellitus.
The morning session on Friday (4th Oct.) was reserved for presentations related to markers in malignant diseases and started with the plenary lecture by
Prof. Tomris Ozben from Turkey on the use of circulating free DNA (cfDNA) in the diagnosis of different
diseases, among which cancer diseases (liquid biopsy). Another plenary lecture was given by Prof. Dr. Diana Plasheska-Karanfilska from R. Macedonia, where
she spoke about the high-risk genes in onset of breast
carcinoma. This was followed by 15-minute-oral presentations on the elevated IMA in patients with breast
cancer (Ali Unlu, Tureky), telomerase targeted therapies in carcinomas (Zeliha Gunnur Dikmen, Turkey),
activity of LCAT and POX-1 in patients with colorectal
cancer (MS Pharm. Marija Mihajlovic, Serbia), and thebenefit of multi-marker panels in diagnosis of ovariancarcinoma (Veselina Koleva, Bulgaria).
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Speakers and Congress Committe members of the 26th Congress of the Balkan Clinical Laboratory Federation,and the 6th National Congress of the Macedonian Society of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine

Session 5 consisted of various presentations and lectures. The first two plenary lectures were given by Dr.
Nevena Terzic Stanic (Montenegro) on laboratory disorders in patients with SLE, and the second given by
Prof. Sanja Stankovic on pharmacokinetics in cardiovascular diseases. Fifteen-minute-oral presentations
followed on: DEXA and bone biomarkers in the evaluation of bone diseases in patients with thalassemia andhemoglobinopathies (Prof. Etleva Refatlari, Albania),
evaluation of SP-A and SP-D as biomarkers of COPD
(Regina Hasa, Albania), and blood proficiency testing
study (Prof. Dr. Tanja Makarovska, R. Macedonia). The
session continued with the professional presentations
suggested by the sponsors of the Congress and presented by Assist. Prof. Aleksandar Petlichkovski from R.
Macedonia, Dr. Dubravka Antova from R. Macedonia
and Panagiota Evangelakou from Greece.
The afternoon session was reserved for topics related
to enhancing precision in medical diagnostics by usingmass spectrometry (Prof. Dobrin Svinarov, Bulgaria), thefuture in the application of mass spectrometry in theclinical laboratory diagnostics (Fehime Benli Aksungar,
Turkey), and the application of liquid chromatography –tandem mass spectrometry in determination of serum
arginine in pregnant patients (Sedat Abusoglu, Turkey).
The final, 7th session of the Congress was reservedfor presentations related to seasonal variability of
VD in Bilecik province (Dr. Saadet Celik, Turkey), EFof hemoglobin in thalassemia patients (Selma Dyca,
Albania), alterations in bone metabolism of obese patients (Prof. Dr. Aylin Sepichi Dincel, Turkey), risk management in biochemical laboratories (Prof. Dr. Katerina Tosheska-Trajkovska, R. Macedonia), and foodintolerance (Dr. Pecko Desoski).
The Congress was declared closed by Prof. Dr. Danica
Labudovic by expressing her gratitude to all lecturers and poster presenters as well as to the sponsors,
who all together contributed in creating an excellent
environment for exchange of scientific results, ideas,
experiences and in building a professional net among
the participants.

43

News from the Greek Societyof Clinical Chemistry - Clinical Biochemistry (GSCC-CB)
16th Congress of the GSCC-CB
http://www.eekx-kb.gr

by Andriani Grigoratou
Editor-in-chief, GSCC-CB eNewsletter

The 16th Congress of the Greek Society of Clinical
Chemistry - Clinical Biochemistry (GSCC-CB) with international participation was held on October 11-13,
2018, in Alexandroupolis, an important port and commercial center of Evros Region, Thrace (NE Greece).
The Congress was organized under the auspices of
IFCC and EFLM.
The round table on the Emerging Technologies Division of IFCC (Chair: Dr. Alexander Haliassos) opened
the congress It included two lectures “Introducing
the Emerging Technologies Division of IFCC” by S.
Bernardini (Prof. of Internal Medicine and Clinical Biochemistry, University Hospital Tor Vergata, Laboratory of Clinical Biochemistry, Rome, Italy) and “Mobile
Health and Clinical Laboratory: an introduction“ byBernard Gouget (Conseiller Santé Publique-Fédération Hospitalière de France, France).
The second round table referred to Flow Cytometry(Chairs: Dr. Katerina Psarra, Dr. George Martinis) andincluded two lectures “Flow Cytometry and cell sorting” by Dr. Katerina Psarra (Past President of ESCCA”European Society for Clinical Cell Analysis”, Evangelismos Hospital, Athens) and “Intraoperative flow cytometry in cancer management” by Dr. George Vartholomatos (Neurosurgical Institute of the Universityof Ioannina).
On the second Congress day the very interestinground table on “Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine” (Chairs: Vangelis G. Manolopoulos,
George Kolios) included the lectures of Prof. Vangelis
G. Manolopoulos on “Clinical Applications in Cardiovascular Pharmacogenomics” and Prof. Georgia Ragia on “Pharmacogenomics in Psychopharmacology”(both from the Laboratory of Pharmacology, Medical
School of Democritus University of Thrace, DUTH).

It was followed by Dr. Ioannis Papasotiriou’s (Head ofClin. Biochemistry Dept. Aghia Sophia Children’s Hospital, Athens) invited lecture on “Clinical significanceof Glycated Hemoglobin in patients with Hemoglobinopathies”.
Dr. Alexander Haliassos (President of GSCC-CB, Director of Quality at ESEAP, Greek Proficiency Testing
Scheme for Clinical Laboratories, Greece) presented“The new ESEAP program of Proficiency Testing of
EGFR mutations”.
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In the Leriva Satellite Symposium Dr. George Kolios(Laboratory of Clinical Chemistry, University of Ioannina) referred to the “Timeline of prostate cancer detection biomarkers”.
“The guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of
Osteoporosis in Greece 2017” were presented by P.
Makras (Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes,
251 Hellenic Air-Force and VA General Hospital, Athens).
A very interesting round table on “Diabetes” (Chair:
Nikolaos Papanas) included lectures by Assistant Prof.
Christina Tsigalou (Medical-Molecular Microbiology,
Democritus University of Thrace) on “Emerging biomarkers in serum and urine for early diabetes diagnosis”, by Prof. Eleni Bairaktari (Laboratory of Clinical
Chemistry, University of Ioannina) on “Metabonomics: Metabolite Profiles in Diabetes” and by Prof.
Christina Tsigalou on “Human intestinal microbiome
and chronic adipose tissue inflammation in obesity”.
The ABBOTT- THERMO FISHER Satellite Symposium focused on “Procalcitonin levels in response to systemic
inflammation and on guidance to antibiotic therapy”
by Pan. Evangelakou and “Management of vitamin D
deficiency: Guidelines of the Hellenic Endocrine Society” by Assistant Prof. Kal. Kotsa (Aristotle Universityof Thessaloniki, Greece).

The next round table analyzed interesting issues oninfertility (Chair: Demetrios Rizos, ex. President of
GSCC-CB) and consisted of four lectures: “Introduction to infertility” by N. Koutlaki-Kourti (Associate
Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Democritus
University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis), “The role ofthe laboratory in female infertility” by Demetrios Rizos (Associate Professor of Clinical Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), “Male infertility testing” by clinical embryologist Desp. Tzanakaki(Departement of Obstetrics and Gynecology, National
and Kapodistrian University of Athens) and “Infertility
treatments” by N. Koutlaki-Kourti.
Then Ioannis Iliopoulos, Prof. of Neurology at the Democritus University of Thrace gave a lecture on “Antibody profiles in Paraneoplastic Neurological Syndromes (PNS)”.
On the last Congress day the first round table covered
the recent advances on “Laboratory biomarkers in dementias” (Chairs: S. Bernardini, C. Kroupis, A. Haliassos) and included the lectures by Prof. S. Bernardinion “Standardization of CSF biomarker assays - pre-analytical and analytical aspects of CSF biomarker assays” and by assistant Prof. Christos Kroupis, (Clinical
Biochemistry and Molecular Diagnostics Department,
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens) on“Genetic Biomarkers in dementia”.

16th Congress of the Greek Society of Clinical Chemistry - Clinical Biochemistry in Alexandroupolis

Article continued on next page

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Then in the round table on “Potential role of biomarkers in stroke: from early diagnosis to guidance of therapy” we attended the lectures on “Use of biomarkers
in clinical practice and research” by Joan Montaner(Neurovascular Research Laboratory Stroke Unit Valld’Hebron Hospital Barcelona, Spain) and on “Stroke
biomarkers: Analytical and pre-analytical issues-theneed for standardization” by Dr. K. Makris (KAT General Hospital, Athens, Kifissia).
Prof. Konstantinos Vadikolias (Dept. of Neurology,
Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis)
spoke on “Diagnosis of mental disorders - differential
diagnosis of dementia” and Assistant Prof. Aikaterini
Terzoudi (Dept. of Neurology, Democritus Universityof Thrace) referred to “Epileptic seizure and epilepsy
diagnosis”.
The Roche Satellite Symposium was dedicated to“Coping with personality and behavior changes in
Alzheimer’s disease” and to “CSF Automated biomarker assays and their implication for Alzheimer disease
management”.

The IFCC Task Force – Young Scientists (Moderator:
E. Konsta, University of West Attica), presented the“Young Scientists in the field of Laboratory Medicine”
Symposium.
Our three-day Congress was attended by many participants, health professionals and students of the
School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine andDepartment of Molecular Biology & Genetics of Democritus University of Thrace and other Universities
all over Greece.
Thanks to the organizing committee (President Konstantinos Anagnostopoulos, Associate Professor of
Biochemistry, Department of Medicine of the Democritus University of Thrace), the scientific committee(President Ioannis Tentes, Associate Professor of Biochemistry, Department of Medicine of the Democritus
University of Thrace), all speakers and participants, it
was a successful Congress. It had a high quality andwide range innovative scientific program, which covered a variety of topics and deepened our knowledge(especially for our young colleagues) on the emerging
fields of clinical chemistry.

News from the Societyof Medical Biochemists of Serbia (SMBS)
The Twenty First Annual 'Professor Ivan Berkeš'
Scientific Conferenceby Snežana Jovičić
Liaison Member, IFCC eNews Working Group
Scientific Conference dedicated to the life and work of
the esteemed Prof. Dr. Ivan Berkeš, one of the foundersof medical biochemistry in former Yugoslavia, is organized for twenty-one years now under the auspices of
the Society of Medical Biochemists of Serbia (SMBS),and Scientific Foundation “Professor Ivan Berkeš”. The
Conference is the occasion when the best graduate
students of the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade are awarded by the Scientific Foundation “Professor Ivan Berkeš”.
The 2018 Annual Scientific Conference “Professor
Ivan Berkeš” is the second co-organized and hosted

by the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade. It
gathered over 200 participants – students, older colleagues who were the students of Professor Berkeš,
young graduated medical biochemists, and teachers of the Faculty of Pharmacy. Traditional guests
were the family members of Professor Berkeš – hisson and grandson, with their families. This traditional meeting of students and professors of the Facultyof Pharmacy, honoring the legacy of one of its mostdistinguished professors was held on December 6,
2018. After the opening words of the organizer, Prof.
Nada Majkić-Singh, the musical band of pharmacy
students performed, adding the festivity to the event.
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Following the welcoming address of the Dean, Prof.
Dr. Slađana Šobajić, Prof. Majkić-Singh, together
with the President of the SMBS, Dr. Zorica Šumarac,
presented the awards of the Foundation.
This year’s recipients were Jelena Pavlović, Masterof Pharmacy-Medical Biochemist, and Natalija Arsić, Master of Pharmacy.
During the scientific part of the program, chairedby Prof. Dr. Svetlana Ignjatović, Prof. Dr. Vesna
Spasojević-Kalimanovska, and Dr. Zorica Šumarac,
this year’s defended doctoral thesis at the Facultyof Pharmacy of the University of Belgrade, were
presented.

This year’s laureates, Jelena Pavlović and Natalija Arsić,
with Prof. Dr. Nada Majkić-Singh and Dr. Zorica Šumarac

This year, their doctoral theses were also presented
by colleagues from the Faculty of Medicine of the
University of Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska –Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The first speaker was Dr. Dragana Bačković, with
her thesis on the influence of CYP2C19*2 genevariant on therapeutic response during clopidogrel
treatment in patients with carotid artery stenosis.
Dr. Dragana Puhalo Sladoje’s thesis was about theconcentration of appetite regulators and adipocytokines in blood plasma adolescents with obesity
and/or metabolic syndrome.
Oxidative stress status in blood and lipoprotein
fractions in patients with chronic kidney disease
was the topic of the lecture of Dr. Milica Miljković.
The lecture on risk factors for the occurrence anddevelopment of chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease associated with oxidative stress in Serbian
population by Dr. Živka Malić followed.

Chairs and lecturers, from left to righ: Dr. Milica Miljković,
Dr. Iva Perović-Blagojević, Prof. Vesna SpasojevićKalimanovska, Prof. Nada Majkić-Singh, Dr. Živka Malić,
Prof. Svetlana Ignjatović, Dr. Dragana Bačković, Dr. Dragana
Puhalo-Sladoje, and Dr. Zorica Šumarac

Redox disbalance and inflammation influence on
PON1 activity and distribution at the HDL lipoprotein particles in polycystic ovary syndrome waspresented by Dr. Iva Perović-Blagojević.
The conference closed the doctorate of Dr. Vanja
Todorović on antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of cocoa powder and its impact on mice
behavior after short-term and long-term supplementation.

Pharmacy students’ musical band opening the conference47News from the Spanish Societyof Laboratory Medicine (SEQCML)
Promoting the integration of laboratory medicine
into the healthcare process

The first meeting of the Spanish Society of Laboratory
Medicine (SEQCML) with Scientific Societies was organized with the aim of promoting the integrationof Laboratory Medicine into the healthcare process,highlighting its impact on patients, healthcare professionals, health systems, and society in general, andstrengthening the lines of collaboration:
ÂÂ The clinical laboratory faces new challenges,
such as increased demand and costs, thedevelopment of 4P medicine, technologicalinnovation, and growing patient empowerment
ÂÂ Technological innovation, moleculardiagnosis, and information systems and big
data (which influence connectivity and theinterpretation of results), are factors that areleading the change in Laboratory Medicine
ÂÂ Cooperation is necessary to improve theappropriateness of laboratory tests, given thehigh number of unnecessary tests requested thatgenerate over-diagnoses and over-treatment
Barcelona, ​​November 08, 2018. It is estimated that
1.3 requests for clinical laboratory tests per inhabitant are requested every year, tests that represent
4% of hospital costs. In 2015 alone, according to datafrom the Ministry of Health, more than 60 million requests and more than 604 million tests were carriedout in Spain.
Various published studies indicate that more than 70%of the clinical decisions made every day are based on
Laboratory results, which is why it is the largest generator of information on healthcare activity.

Nevertheless, and despite the transversal nature ofLaboratory Medicine, its contribution to health careis undervalued. For this reason, it is necessary to redefine the role of Laboratory Medicine specialists as
experts at consulting work and collaboration withclinicians, since these professionals are dedicated togenerating information and knowledge that help inclinical decision-making.
Therefore, with the aim of assuming the leadershipthat falls to it as a scientific society to situate Laboratory Medicine in a wider context that benefits everyone, especially the public, the Spanish Society ofLaboratory Medicine (SEQCML) has created The Committee on the Value of the Clinical Laboratory, which
it has introduced to representatives of different medical-scientific societies in a conference.
Specifically, together with representatives of the
SEQC ML, the meeting benefited from the presenceof the following representatives of Scientific Societies: Javier García (AEDP, Spanish Association of Prenatal Diagnosis), Leticia Moreira (AEGASTRO, Spanish Association of Gastroenterology), Angel Cequier(SEC, Spanish Society of Cardiology), Anna Rodríguez
(SEDISA, Spanish Society of Health Managers), Irene
Bretón (SEEN, Spanish Society of Endocrinology andNutrition), M. Luisa López-Teijón (SEGO, Spanish Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics), Gilberto Alonso(SEMES , Spanish Society of Urgent and Emergency
Medicine), Manuel Jiménez de la Cruz (SEMERGEN,
Spanish Society of Primary Care Physicians), Alberto
Hernández (SEMYCIUC, Spanish Society of Intensive
Medicine and Coronary Units), Héctor Boix (SENEO,
Spanish Society of Neonatology), Miguel Ángel Seguí(SEOM, Spanish Society of Medical Oncology), Paula
Peleteiro (SEOR, Spanish Society of Radiation Oncology) and Carolina Malagelada (SEPD, Spanish Society of Digestive Pathology).
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INTEGRATION OF LABORATORY MEDICINEIN THE CARE PROCESS“The Committee on the Value of the Clinical Laboratory has been created with the objective of enhancing
the integration of Laboratory Medicine into the care
process, emphasizing its impact on patients, healthcare professionals, health systems, and society in general,” says Ana Quinteiro, Chair of the Committee.
“In this sense,” he adds, “both the creation of theCommittee and the organization of the conference
respond to a profound process of reflection within
our Society at a time of change: we have laboratoriesof the highest quality; laboratory professionals haveinvested a lot of effort in the optimization of internal
processes, in quality assurance systems and in the improvement of efficiency, all with the aim of providing
quality results at reasonable costs”.
For Fernando Cava, member of the Clinical Value Committee of the SEQCML, the laboratory specialties havebeen pioneers in qualitative changes, in the introduction of quality systems, and management involvement.

“However, the real engine of change is a culturalchange, a vision of what our role is -- in short, of who
we are,” he says.
For this expert, a medical laboratory creates value
when it acts as a strategic core concept within thedecision-making processes. In this context, it affects
the production of clinical information far beyond thereport (for example, detection of admitted patientswith critical values ​​and candidates for a potential admission to the ICU, etc.) as an example of generating
value from the laboratory.
On the other hand, there are several factors that areleading, to a greater extent, the change in Laboratory
Medicine, points out Ana Quinteiro, among which aretechnological innovation, molecular diagnosis (which
affects practically all laboratory disciplines and is
modifying the focus of clinical decisions: personalized
and predictive medicine), and information systems
and big data (which influence connectivity and interpretation of results).

Participants to the Scientific Societies Meeting, hosted by SEQCML
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IMPORTANCE OF THE CLINICAL LABORATORY
IN THE CURRENT HEALTHCARE MODEL
The clinical laboratory faces new challenges, such asincreasing demand and costs, the development of 4P
medicine, technological innovation, and growing patient empowerment.
Because of this, Isabel Llompart, member of the Committee of the SEQCML, puts the focus on the need towork together for a better appropriateness of tests.
“There is an increase in demand for laboratory tests
that is not commensurate with the increase in medical activity. A high number of the determinations requested are unnecessary and not only do they not add
value to the patient but they generate over-diagnosis
and over-treatment. Five of the main causes that leadto diagnostic errors are related to not asking for thecorrect laboratory tests or asking for inadequate tests,
for which initiatives such as ‘Not to do’ or ‘DianaSalud’[Target Health] are very important. Making the test
requests appropriate is not aimed at trying to reduce
tests, but to ensure that what is requested is correct”.
“For all this, it is important that we work together at
the level of scientific societies,” she notes.
“There is a change in the laboratory model, from amodel centered on samples and technology to a model
centered on the patient and on participation in clinicaldecision-making. We want to be the engine of change
so that by guaranteeing quality of results and the sustainability of the system we can provide the value thatthe patient and society need,” he concluded.
STRENGTHEN LINES OF COLLABORATIONThe SEQCML, as explained at the opening of the Conference by its president, Dr. Imma Caballé, has a total of
2,709 members (15% of whom are medical residents)and has various committees: Committee on the Valueof the Clinical Laboratory, Committee on Congresses,
Committee on Education, Committee on Communication, Committee on External Quality Programs, andthe Scientific Committee, comprising 25 Commissions
and 3 Working Groups. Likewise, the Society has 40
international representatives in international organizations: IFCC, EFLM, FESTEM, ICSH and CLSI.

Among the services it offers are Continuing Training
Courses, online courses and training webinars, andExternal Quality Guarantee Programs certified according to ISO 9001: 2015, with the participation of
700 centers. In addition, it has the JL Castaño-SEQC
Foundation, and grants various scholarships, prizes,
and travel funds (assistance for Congresses in Latin
America).
Likewise, the Society works on activities and consensus documents with other scientific societies. Specifically, strengthening the lines of collaboration between
societies has been one of the priority objectives of theConference, as outlined by Dr. Antonio Buño, memberof the board of directors of the SEQCML, who emphasized the different activities that could be carried out
jointly, such as joint consensus documents, specificmonographs, “cross” participation in congresses, creation of specific work groups within a society, organization of joint scientific conferences, multi-center
projects, endorsement of international guides in areas of interest, common strategies for communicationand disclosure to the patient, etc.
“The Spanish Society of Laboratory Medicine is committed to working together with other scientific societies, so we hope that this first day will start a path ofcollaboration and contribute towards a greater interconnection between these societies in order to movetowards better quality of healthcare “, concludes thepresident of the SEQCML.
The SEQCMLThe Spanish Society of Laboratory Medicine (SEQCML)-founded in 1976- currently includes more than
2,500 professionals, and its main objective is tobring together all scientists interested in the field ofLaboratory Medicine, to promote the disseminationof scientific and technical publications, to organize
meetings, courses and congresses of a national andinternational nature, to cooperate with other Scientific Societies, and to defend and promote thespecialties within Laboratory Medicine as well as its
associates. Likewise, the Society wishes to contributeto the study and recommendation of standardized
methods and the establishment of guidelines and recommendations for training in the field of Laboratory
Medicine. For more information: www.seqc.es.

50

EFLM project "Exchange of practical knowledge andskills in Laboratory Medicine"
EFLMLabX: How far we are and what is new?
								by Evgenija Homšak
Chair, EFLM WG-CPE

We would like to remind you the EFLMLabX project which offers the great opportunity for exchanging practicalknowledge and skills in Laboratory Medicine and creating links between the medical laboratories and European Specialists in Laboratory Medicine.
The EFLMLabX platform is accessible from the homepage of the EFLM website (www.eflm.eu) or directly at
https://eflmlabx.eflm.eu/en. The programme offers the possibility to search with dropdown menu by country,
institution, type of practice, field of diagnostics, period of time, methods, sub-methods and to apply to different
training opportunities establishing direct links between users and providers.
a database of medical laboratories willing to offer practicaleducation/training in different specialties of Laboratory Medicine
where Specialists can search for practice

Do not hesitate! look for your practice andmake the experience to meet other Specialists
in your country or abroad!

https://eflmlabx.eflm.eu/en
Who should apply as user and why:
Trainee fellows, young specialists and any Specialists in Laboratory Medicine from any EFLM country to gain
new skills, to be potential co-workers, to get more knowledge and experience about different methods, IVD
products/systems not present in their labs, to make new experiences and establish new contacts and opportunity for research work.
Who should host as offerer and why:
National institutions and any medical laboratories in any EFLM country providing a good level of practice toshare with other Specialists in Laboratory Medicine good models of achieved lab practice and expose thesemodels to a wide audience in Europe.

51

After one year from the pilot project, we already have 15 laboratories from 11 different EFLM countries (France,
Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Poland Netherlands, Slovenia, Croatia, Czech Republic, UK, and lately also Germany)
participanting as offerers/providers in this project.
We also already had very successful training experiences which obtained a very positive feedback from theparticipants. The training was held in Slovenia (at the University Clinic for Respiratory and Allergic Diseases in
Golnik – on Accreditation and quality in LM), Czech Republic (at the Institute of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Diagnostics in Prague – on different field and technique of LM) and in Poland (at the Medical Universityof Bialystok - on Cerebrospinal / body cavities fluids diagnostics).
During 2019, we are expecting
new providers offering new training opportunities (from Germany,
Netherlands, France), including
the Institute for Clinical Chemistry,
University Medicine Mannheim,
Germany.
To support this important exchange of knowledge and skills
in LM, especially for young trainees, EFLM would like to establish
a dedicated bursary programmefinancially supported by IVD companies to cover travelling and accommodation expenses for participants. That way, we would be
able to stimulate the exchange ofknowledge between different professionals, laboratories and institutions in EFLM countries.
We now invite further specialists
in laboratory medicine, trainees
and especially laboratories and institutions in Europe to choose thispossibility and apply to become auser or provider in this very important EFLM educational initiative.
Detailed information about thisproject can be found at the following link:
https://eflmlabx.eflm.eu/en.

EFLMLabX website for searching practices in laboratory medicine

Join the project and take the opportunity to improve your expertise!

52

NEW IFCC MEMBERS
IFCC welcomes new affiliate member from Serbia: SCLM
Serbian Society
for Clinical Laboratory Medicine and Science (SCLM)
by Sanja Stankovic
SCLM President
Serbian Society for Clinical Laboratory Medicine andScience (SCLM) was formed to advance the laboratory medicine practice and science in Serbia, fulfillingthe expectations of healthcare professionals and patients’ needs. Serbia needed this kind of society fora long time. Different professionals involved in laboratory medicine field in Serbia belonged to different
societies according to their basic university educationor postgraduate specialization.
The basic idea of forming SCLM is the gathering andassociation of all health professionals from diverse
backgrounds in Serbia, from public or private sector involved in laboratory medicine field: mastersof pharmacy-medical biochemists, pharmacists andmedicine doctors specialists in medical/clinical biochemistry, medicine doctors specialists in microbiology, transfusion, histopathology, molecular biologists,biologists, chemists, as well as those involved in scientific or in basic research with the aim of translating research into clinical practice. For the first timein Serbia, they got an opportunity to network, collaborate, and connect in one joint association, ready torespond to contemporary trends.
SCLM was established in May 2018, and now it has
more than 500 members. The members of our executive Board are well recognized healthcare professionals and scientists with serious experience in different
national and international societies.
Within the next few years, SCLM plans to engage abroader community, to extend its network with laboratories and lab professionals, healthcare professionals, researchers, biotech and pharmaceuticalindustries, the politics and the public. Also, it will improve cooperation with Ministry of Health, Ministry of
Education, Science and Technological Development,
Public Health Institutes, Academic institutions, Chambers of health workers, professional and scientific associations of the relevant activities in the country.
SCLM will continuously promote principles and codesof the profession, giving professional, advisory andeducational support to clinical laboratories and supporting quality improvement in laboratory medicine
in Serbia.
The goal of this society is to motivate all members topresent national interests of the profession, informthe domestic and international professional publicwith the situation in the profession, to be involved andto be heard.
SCLM would also like to work to increase its visibility
trough interregional cooperation. The key focus is toencourage more engagement with other national societies or groups and to encourage SCLM members to
be more proactive in the IFCC’s activities. SCLM will
actively support the relations between professional medical associations and the healthcare industry,
concerning scientific communication and continuing
medical education.
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Providing key resources and interactive information for
full members and end-user groups could be of great
importance. SCLM likes to contribute in strengthening
the relationships with healthcare professionals, nurses/technicians, representatives of patient societies,
etc. And SCLM will also try to develop more partnerships with global non-profit organizations, government, and community leaders to participate in our
programs. SCLM’s special focus are young people. It
is devoted to intrigue, attract and motivate young talents, laboratory professionals and researchers for IFCC
networking activities.

SCLM's main mission is education. Every year SCLM organizes international symposium SERBIS (Serbian Biomarker Symposium), and international conference
CLAQ (Conference on Medical Laboratory Accreditation and Quality Systems), and continuous medical
education seminars, roundtable discussions, etc.
Also, SCLM is an active supporter of and participant at
IFCC events and meetings.
SCLM as new wave society is honored to be named
as affiliate member of IFCC and will contribute to thecontinuous success of the IFCC.

IFCC'S CALENDAR OF CONGRESSES, CONFERENCES & EVENTS
Calendar of IFCC Congresses/Conferences
and Regional Federations' Congresses

May 19 - 23, 2019

XXIII IFCC - EFLM EuroMedLab
Barcelona 2019

Barcelona, ES

Sep 10 - 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

Calendar continued on next page54

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 of events with IFCC auspices
Feb 20 - 22, 2019

IV Turkish in vitro Diagnostic (IVD) Symposium “Biosensors”

Izmir, TR

Feb 21 - 23, 201914th Annual Meeting of Quality Assuranceand Update on Obesity and Diabetes Topics

San Luis Potosì,MX

Mar 2 - 3, 2019

3rd Annual Conference of Nepalese Association
for Clinical Chemistry (3rd NACCON 2019)

Pokhara, NP

Mar 14 - 16, 2019

VIIIth Congress of the Syndicate of Clinical Biologists of Lebanon,
VIIIth Days of the International Francophone Federation of Clinical
Biology and Laboratory Medicine

Beirut, LB

Mar 21 - 23, 2019

Annual academic sessions for doctors and workshop
on medical laboratory science

Colombo, LK

Mar 22 - 23, 2019

5th EFLM European Conference on Preanalytical Phase“Preanalytical Challenges - time for solutions”

Zagreb, HR

Mar 28 - 29, 2019

XVII Meeting of the SEQCML Scientific Committee

Apr 4 - 5, 2019

10th European Symposium on Clinical Laboratory
and In Vitro Diagnostic Industry: ‘The Clinical Laboratory
in the Pregnancy Monitoring'

Barcelona, ES

Apr 5, 2019

Cardiac Marker Dialogues

Glasgow, UK

Apr 11 - 12, 2019

The 15th Belgrade Symposium for Balkan Region

Belgrade, SRB

Apr 18 - 21, 2019

The 12th International & 17th National Congress on Quality
Improvement in Clinical Laboratories

Tehran, IR

May 1 - 3, 2019

Focus 2019 – Annual Meeting of the ACB

Glasgow, UK

May 18, 2019

VII International Symposium Laboratory Medicine and Quality- Satellite Meeting IFCC-EFLM EUROMEDLAB 2019

Barcelona, ES

MadridCalendar continued on next page55

May 19, 2019

International Symposium: Standardization and Recommendationsin the Laboratory of Haematology - Satellite Meeting IFCC-EFLM
EUROMEDLAB 2019

Barcelona, ES

May 19, 2019

International Symposium : Breast Cancer and Environment- Satellite Meeting IFCC-EFLM EUROMEDLAB 2019

Barcelona, ES

Jun 2 - 5, 2019

CSCC 2019 Annual ConferenceSaint John, CA

Jun 5 - 7, 2019

The 3rd Conference of Romanian Associationof Laboratory Medicine (RALM)

The 23rd International Conference on Laboratory Medicine
Jun 29 - Jul 3, 2019 and Pathobiology: An expert forum in clinicaland laboratory sciences

Chios Island, GR

Sep 10 - 13, 2019

XXIV Congreso Latinoamericano de Bioquímica Clínica
(COLABIOCLI) and XIV Congreso Nacional de Laboratoristas
Clínicos de Panamá

Panama City, PA

Sep 25 - 27, 2019

Congreso Nacional Bioquímico CUBRA XV 2019

Chaco, AR

Oct 16 - 18, 2019

5th ESPT Congress – Precision Medicine and Personalized Health

Seville, ES

Oct 23, 2019

From Bench to Diagnostic-Therapeutic Pathways - Symposium Dedicated to the Memory of Professor Angelo Burlina

Padua, IT

Jun 9 - 12, 2020

XXXVII Nordic Congress in Medical Biochemistrywww.ifcc.org

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Corporate Members
AbbottADx Neurosciences
Agappe Diagnostics, Ltd.
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
DiatronET Healthcare Inc.
Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Corporation
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Gentian, AS
Helena Biosciencies Europe
Hemas Hospitals (PVT) Ltd.
HyTest, Ltd.
A. Menarini Diagnostics
MedicalSystem Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

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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

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Nepal: Nepalese Association for Clinical Chemistry (NACC)
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Russia: Regional Association for Clinical Laboratory Diagnosis, St. Petersburg
Serbian Society for Clinical Laboratory Medicine and Science (SCLM)
Spain: Asociación Española de Farmacéuticos Analistas (AEFA)
Turkey: Society of Clinical Biochemistry Specialists (KBUD)
Ukraine: Association for Quality Assurance of Laboratory Medicine (AQALM)

Publisher
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Starting in 2018, the Communications
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EditorKatherina Psarra, MSc, PhD
Department of Immunology - Histocompatibility
Evangelismos Hospital, Athens, Greece
E-mail: enews@ifcc.org

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