60th Annual Irish Neurological Association Meeting May 2024
The 60th Annual Meeting of the IICN’s Irish Neurological Association took place on May 2 – 3rd under the presidency of Prof. Francesca Brett, Consultant Neuropathologist in Beaumont and Clinical Professor in Trinity College Dublin.
The meeting was held in the Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel. Prof. Brett had welcomed delegates to Kilkenny at a reception in Butler House on the evening of May 1st. She opened the INA meeting at the Ormonde Hotel on May 3rd, welcoming IICN Members, presenters, delegates, guests and sponsors. Kilkenny was chosen as the venue as it is Prof. Brett’s home place and the beautiful city is an ideal location for a conference, great venues and all within walking distance.
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Meeting Programme
Brief updates in the Major Subspecialities
The outline of the excellent INA meeting which was hosted in Kilkenny by the INA President 2022, Dr Paul Crowley, was followed for the 2024 meeting. Before each scientific session the chair of that session gave a brief update on recent advances in their area of interest. Sincere thanks to Dr. Danny Costello (Epilepsy Update), Dr. John McConville (Neuromuscular Update), Prof. Tim Lynch (Neurodegeneration Update), Dr. Conor Fearon (Movement Disorders Update) and Dr. Melanie Lang Orsini (Molecular Update).
To view the full meeting programme click here
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Poster Presentations and Viewing
The poster presentation sessions are a very important component of the meeting, providing presenters with the opportunity to explain their research and cases and to illustrate important data through graphs, traces, scans and other imagery. The scheduled Guided Poster Tours for each category were conducted by specialists in the area and provided delegates with the opportunity to discuss work in areas of particular interest.
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Irish Neurological Association Business Meeting
This was held on May 2nd. The Minutes of the 2023 INA Business Meeting were agreed by all present.
The IICN Dean, Dr. John McConville proposed the election of Dr Helena Moore as INA President 2025 and this was warmly supported by all those present.
Dr John McHugh read a tribute to Dr. Jennifer Tracey who although not a member of IICN was Prof. Andrew McKeon’s late wife and died last year.
Dr. McConville paid tribute to Ms. Ena Bingham, neurology specialist nurse at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. He noted that Ms. Bingham was the kindest, most empathetic person and he considered her to be family. She is sadly missed
All those present agreed that the meeting and interacting with colleagues in person, together with an extensive and varied programme made the 60th INA meeting a fun event.
A vote of thanks to Prof. Brett, INA President 2024, was roundly endorsed.
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Neurology Registrar Session
This session had been the brainchild of Dr Tudor Munteanu and his colleagues and was begun ni 2022.
This year Dr Martin O’Donnell led this session focussing on amongst other things the transition to Consultant.A number of neurology consultants spoke of their experience and offered direction on selection of pathways through engaging in research, applying to work at international centres and other important career decisions.
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Noel Callaghan Guest Lecture
The Noel Callaghan lecture, honouring Dr Noel Callaghan, the first Neurologist appointed in Cork, loyal supporter of INA meetings and an excellent undergraduate and postgraduate teacher was given by Prof. Guido Giunti on ‘The Neurology patient journey and Artificial Intelligence’.
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Presidential Symposium on Artificial Intelligence
The Noel Callaghan lecture was followed by a Presidential symposium, chaired by Dr. Hugh Kearney (Consultant Neurologist, St James and Trinity College) and included Professor Richard Reilly (School of Medicine and Engineering Trinity College Dublin, Dr. Giunti and Dr Melanie Lang Orsini (Consultant Neuropathologist, Beaumont Hospital and Children’s Health Ireland).
The topics addressed were clinical applications, legal and ethical considerations, challenges and future developments
This was followed by a panel debate. - ▾
Awards and Prizes
The INA meeting awards were as follows:
- Harold Millar Prize for best overall presentation was given to Dr. Michael Gilligan, for the presentation on ‘Paraneoplastic calmodulin kinase-like vesicle-associated protein (CAMKV) Autoimmune Encephalitis’.
- John Kirker Prize for best Epilepsy presentation was given to Dr. Husain Mallala for the presentation on ‘Patient Journey and Clinical Outcomes of Paediatric epilepsy surgery in CHI-Crumlin’.
- Mark Gibson prize for best Movement Disorder presentation to Dr. Esther Macken for the presentation on ‘The first report of myoclonus and putaminal cysts in Salla Disease-the phenotype expanded’.
- Best Neurosurgical presentation was given to Dr. Clodagh O’Keeffe for the presentation on ’Weight Gain and Charge Efficiency in Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy: An Investigative Analysis’.
- Hugh Staunton Prize was given to Ms. Beibhinn Wilkins as the best intern or medical student presentation. Her presentation related to the ‘Impact of the Revised 2021 WHO Brain Tumour Classification of Neuropathology Practice’.
- Highly Commended in this category was Ms. Samar Alyousif for her presentation on ‘Psychosocial Impact of Tremor Severity in Parkinson’s Disease’.
- John Lynch Prize for best Poster presentation was awarded to Ms. Bianca Castelli for her poster on ‘Measurement of Chitinase-3-Like-1 in Serum and Saliva and its Correlation with Hand Dexterity in a Multiple Sclerosis Cohort’.
- Highly commended posters were:
- Ms. Siobhan Collins for her poster entitled ‘The clinical utility of electroencephalography (EEG) in acute symptomatic seizures related to alcohol withdrawal and illicit drug use/withdrawal’.
- Dr. Ciara Gorman for her poster entitled ‘Neurophysiological Assessment of Patients with Hereditary TTR Amyloidosis: Experience from an Irish Tertiary Centre’.
- Dr. Sophie Longstaff for her poster entitled ‘Diffuse Ganglioneuromatosis in Neurofibromatosis Presenting with Volvulus’.
- Highly commended posters were:
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Closing Remarks
The 60th Annual INA meeting draws to a close. It was great to get colleagues together for a stimulating and lively ‘in person’ meeting. The attendance and participation of all colleagues was much appreciated. The content, variety and presentation style of the platform and poster presentations were of a very high standard. Competition for the prizes was very keen and the awards were well deserved. Not a single speaker went overtime! The poster area was well attended and the expert led poster tours were popular. The full two day program of the meeting now allows for more presentations than in previous years.
My sincere thanks to chairpersons, judges, poster tour guides, presenters and delegates, especially to those who travelled a long distance to attend and to make the meeting a success.
I would like to thank Colette Fitzpatrick for her perseverance, knowledge and support. Without her dedication and attention to detail, the meeting would not have gone so smoothly. I would also like to welcome our new colleague at IICN, Mary McConville, and to thank her for her contribution to the meeting success. Sincere thanks to the staff of the Ormonde Hotel and of the other venues (Butler Gallery, Langton’s Set Theatre) where we were warmly welcomed and looked after very well.
Finally, my sincere appreciation to the sponsoring companies of this meeting and their representatives, without whose support the meeting could not take place.
The 2025 Irish Neurological Association Meeting, under the presidency of Dr. Helena Moore will be announced shortly. This promises to be a great event and I look forward to seeing you all there
– Prof. Francesca Brett
2024 Irish Neurological Association President