Words of welcome

The annual EHA congresses have experienced a steady growth in size and quality, and we believe this year's congress will continue this trend. The Scientific Program Committee and its Advisory Board have taken much effort to generate a timely and stimulating program covering the broad spectrum of benign and malignant hematology. This enables you to select from a wide variety of sessions. You may wish to update your knowledge in the Education and Plenary sessions, to discuss specific issues in the Meet-the-Expert sessions, and/or to follow heated discussions in the Lunch debates. Exciting new data will be provided in the Hematology-in-Focus, Clinical Trial Updates and Science-in-Progress resentations. The Molecular Hematopoiesis workshop will also provide a specific opportunity for the presentation of cutting edge results.

As part of its ongoing efforts to provide hematologists with state-of-the-art educational training tools, the EHA is very pleased to offer webcasts and video on demand or vodcasts of many of the sessions at this year’s congress. The Education Sessions, José Carreras Lecture, Presidential Symposium, EHA-ASH Joint Symposium, and the Plenary Sessions will be webcasted over the internet via the EHA website www.ehaweb.org. This important educational activity is open to all EHA members and to participants of the 13th Congress in Copenhagen.

The large number of abstracts submitted for this year's EHA congress testifies to the importance of these meetings, not only for European hematologists but for hematologists world-wide. The Scientific Program Committee also acknowledges the increasing quality of the data and work that has been submitted. Those will be presented in oral and poster sessions and the 5 best abstracts have been selected for presentation in the Presidential Symposium.

The José Carreras lecture will be presented by Professor John Goldman and the joint EHA-ASH Symposium will focus on the relationship between academia and pharma. In addition, Super Thursday will run the Satellite Symposia that will cover the latest results obtained by innovative treatments.

EHA has taken the initiative to establish a new award to honor outstanding physicians/scientists for their lifetime contribution to the advancement of hematology. The award will be presented for
the first time during the 13th Congress in Copenhagen to Professor Dieter Hoelzer.

Besides engaging in the scientific discussions and education activities, you may wish to enjoy the many cultural attractions of Copenhagen or simply endulge yourself in the friendly athmosphere of Copenhagen while shopping. The museums of modern art, Lousiana in Humlebæk north of Copenhagen and Arken south of the city are easy to reach by public transportation. A visit to the Rosenborg Castle, a gem in the center of the city, will carry you back to the days of Christian IV, or you may wish to visit the old capital Roskilde with its magnificent dome and viking ships.

We highly recommend that you attend this years EHA social event in the Øksnehallen on Saturday, June 14. This will give you the opportunity to meet your friends and colleagues while listening to good music and enjoying some drinks and snacks. Please make your booking, if possible in advance, for € 35 per ticket – it’s worth it! The Øksnehallen is in the very center of the city and you may wish to end the evening by a stroll in the Tivoli Gardens and watch the fireworks at midnight.

We are confident that you will find the program for this years EHA congress exciting and we are certain that you will enjoy both the science