An abstract written collaboratively by the members of the Cohort Coordination Board (CCB) has been accepted for an oral presentation at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) at 11:00 on Tuesday 30 April in Hall J.
The Cohort Coordination Board (CCB), coordinated by the ID-CARE team at the University of Verona, is a forum that brings together cohort-based COVID-19 research projects across Europe alongside representatives from the European Commission, EMA, ECDC and EFPIA. It aims to encourage knowledge-sharing between cohort-based research projects to facilitate partnerships, find solutions to common challenges and reduce overlap between projects. During the CCB’s monthly meetings, members and external experts are invited to present new initiatives, share preliminary results and discuss challenges. Originally managed under the auspices of the Horizon 2020 ORCHESTRA project, the CCB has since been included into the Horizon Europe VERDI and CoMeCT projects.
The European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) is the annual meeting of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, a registered non-profit organisation in Basel, Switzerland. ECCMID has become one of the largest and the foremost congresses in the field of infection, bringing together >16,000 colleagues from all over the world for scientific education, networking and exchange. The comprehensive scientific programme is built by the ECCMID Programme Committee (EPC), an independent group of experts representing all disciplines related to clinical microbiology, infectious diseases, infection prevention and control and public health. This ensures that the programme is a combination that spans the entire range of topics in these fields, allowing every participant to have a comprehensive educational and networking experience.
The abstract submitted by the CCB members, titled “Supporting synergies across European cohorts for optimal evidence generation: the case of the Cohort Coordination Board”, discusses the activities and outputs of the CCB. It relays the important role observational studies can have in pandemic times and, yet, how the differences in data collection and standards can limit this vital impact. The CCB was established in April 2022, following encouragement from the European Commission (EC), to identify synergies across cohorts, map common tasks, discuss hurdles/solutions, promote collaboration for optimising resources and reaching stronger powered results, and provide recommendations for priority areas to the EC. The abstract shows how the CCB has achieved these aims and made evident the ability of strategic and sustained coordination mechanisms in strengthening pandemic preparedness plans. The oral presentation for this abstract is planned for Tuesday 30 April at 11:00 in Hall J, as part of the Pressing issues in CM/ID educational and professional affairs session.
Representatives of the CCB will also be present at the ECCMID Networking Corner on Monday 29th April from 9:30 until 10:00, where they will be happy to give more information on the CCB and answer any questions attendees may have. If you’re at ECCMID this year, why not pop by and say hello.