Neurology Update Meeting, Friday 11 October 2024
The 23rd Annual Neurology Update Meeting, under the directorship of Dr. Ferghal McVerry, will take place on Friday 11 October 2024 at The Canal Court Hotel in Newry, Co. Down.
Guest Speaker
The Guest speaker at the meeting will be Professor Simon Rinaldi, Clinical Director, Oxford Autoimmune Neurology Diagnostic Laboratory.
Prof. Rinaldi’s specialty area is Inflammatory Neuropathy.
This is a neurology education day which will be of interest to neurologists, general physicians and general practitioners. The meeting will be highly relevant for specialists and generalists who manage neurological illness, presenting the latest developments in diagnosis and treatment in a practical “What you need to know” format with short talks with clinical insights for management of neurological patients.Dr Ferghal McVerry is a Consultant Neurologist at Altnagelvin Hospital, which provides general neurology services and supports subspecialty outpatient clinics and ward liaison services in Northern Ireland.
His areas of interest are Acute Neurology, Cerebrovascular Diseases and Stroke Imaging.
- 13 September: Deadline for Early bird Registration for Meeting
20 September: Deadline for Registration for Meeting
- 27 September: Deadline for reservation of overnight accommodation at the Canal Court Hotel, Newry, Co. Down at agreed discounted rate
11 October: Neurology Update Meeting 2024
The Neurology Update Meeting will be a live, in-person event for attendees. There will not be an option to join the live meeting online.
Programme 9.00 Registration 9.30 Welcome & Introduction Dr. Ferghal McVerry, Altnagelvin Hospital Session I
Chairperson: Dr Ferghal McVerry 9.40 - 10.15 The Complex Parkinson's Disease Patient: When to Consider Advanced Therapies Dr Laura Best
The Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast10.15 - 10.50 Peripheral Nerve Vasculitis: Update and Future Directions. Dr Junie Koay, National Hospital of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London 10.50 - 11.25 Dementia Update – Diagnosis and Management Dr. Antoinette O'Connor,
Tallaght University Hospital11.25 - 11.35 Questions and Discussion 11.35 - 12.10 Tea/Coffee Session II Chairperson: Dr John McConville 12.10 - 12.55 Bridging the Gap: Dissecting the Autoimmune Nodopathies Professor Simon Rinaldi, John Radcliffe Hospital
Oxford12.55 - 13.00 Questions and Discussion 13.00 - 14.00 Lunch Session III Chairperson: Dr Seamus Kearney 14.00 - 14.35 Neurosurgical Update: Microvascular Decompressions Mr Jonathan Poots
The Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast14.35 - 15.10 Managing Uncertainty in Seizure Disorders Dr John Craig,
The Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast15.10 - 15.45 Cancer and Neurology in the District General Hospital Dr Aisling Carr, National Hospital of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London 15.45 - 16.00 Questions and Discussion 16.00 Closing Remarks Dr Ferghal McVerry 
Prof. Simon Rinaldi was a medical undergraduate and postgraduate general medical trainee in Manchester. He moved to the University of Glasgow in 2007 to undertake a PhD looking into the neuroimmunology of inflammatory peripheral nerve disease, supervised by Professor Hugh Willison. Following 2 years of clinical neurology training in the East of Scotland, he was appointed as an NIHR Clinical Lecturer in Neurology at the University of Oxford in March 2012. During his lectureship he developed models of immune mediated axonal injury and demyelination using human induced pluripotent stem cells. He has now been awarded an MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowship to identify the specific antibodies responsible for the acute and chronic inflammatory neuropathies and to delineate their pathogenic mechanisms. 
Dr Aisling Carr is a Consultant Neurologist at University College London Hospitals. Her specialist clinical and research interests are in the inflammatory neuropathies, particularly CIDP, vasculitis and paraproteinaemic neuropathies and neurological complications of checkpoint inhibitor chemotherapy. Her outpatient practice as part of the Peripheral Nerve Service in the MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Disease at the National Hospital covers all inflammatory neuropathies, with multidisciplinary support from neurophysiologists, physiotherapists and clinical nurse specialists. 
Dr Antoinette O’Connor is a Consultant Neurologist at Tallaght University Hospital, Dublin. She is a graduate of UCC medical school who completed a PhD at University College London. Her research has focused on investigating accessible biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease, with a particular focus on early disease detection. She has completed a clinical fellowship in neurodegenerative diseases 
Dr. John Craig is a Consultant Neurologist, with a sub-specialty interest in epilepsy, based at The Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. He is also visiting neurologist to Daisy Hill Hospital, Newry. His principal research interest is in the management of epilepsy in pregnancy, in particular the effects of anti-seizure medications on foetal outcomes. He is co-founder and principal investigator of the UK Epilepsy and Pregnancy Register and sits on the Central Programme Commission of EURAP – An International Epilepsy and Pregnancy Register. 
Dr Junie Koay is a Consultant Neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London and Honorary Senior Clinical Research Fellow at the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology. She completed her undergraduate and postgraduate training in London with a PhD in Autonomic Biomarkers at UCL, and a post-CCT Fellowship at the Queen Square Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases. Her research and clinical interests include inflammatory and autonomic neuropathies. 
Dr Jonathan Poots is a Consultant Neurological Surgeon at The Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast.His area of speciality is microsurgery and neuroanatomy. 
Dr Laura Best, is a Consultant Neurologist at The Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast. Her field of speciality is advanced treatments for Parkinson’s Disease. Registration for the Neurology Update Meeting 2024 is invited from medical and allied health professionals. Registration is now open, here.
Standard FeesRegistration Fees
IICN Members
Consultants or equivalent: €120 / approx. £102
Registrars and other trainees: €60 / approx. £51
Non Members
Consultant: €195 / approx £166
Registrars, NCHDs, Nurses and HSCPs: €85 / approx. £72
Retired / medical student / guest / sponsor
No chargeThe Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh have accredited the programme of this meeting with 6 CPD credits in the External CPD category.
Delegates must sign the attendance record at the meeting.
Certificates will be issued to delegates in the week following the meeting.
The Canal Court Hotel is a leading 4 Star Hotel in County Down and is located at the heart of Newry City sitting on the banks of Ireland’s oldest man-made waterway, the Newry Canal. The hotel is located 1 hour 20 minutes from Dublin and 50 minutes from Belfast on the A1/M1 motorway. There is also a reliable train service (with a free shuttle service to the city) and the bus station is a 4 minute walk from the hotel.The Canal Court is an excellent base from which to explore the city and the surrounding countryside; in fact Newry City is the Gateway to the Mourne Mountains should you wish to extend your stay after the meeting. Other attractions include Slieve Gullion Forest Park – Visit Mourne Mountains and for GOT fans Game of Thrones Studio Tour
Travel and Directions.
The full address is: The Canal Court Hotel, Merchants Quay, Newry, Co. Down, Northern Ireland. BT35 8HF
Travelling by Train
There is an excellent train service from both Dublin and Belfast to Newry with a free bus shuttle from the train station to the bus station which is a 4 minute walk to the hotel.
Newry Train Times from Dublin and Belfast
Dublin to Newry Depart Dublin Connolly 06.50 Arrive Newry 08.08 Depart Newry 16.53 Arrive Dublin Connolly 18.13 Depart Newry 18.53 Arrive Dublin Connolly 20.13 Belfast to Newry Depart Belfast Grand Central 08.00 Arrive Newry 08.53 Depart Newry 16.08 Arrive Belfast Grand Central 17.00 Depart Newry 18.08 Arrive Belfast Grand Central 19.00 See the full train timetable here
Travelling by bus
Newry bus station is literally a 4 min walk from the hotel
Dublin Bus Aras Dep 6:45 Arr 8.:35
Belfast Europa Dep 7:00 Arr 8:05 OR Dep 8:00 Arr 9:05
Derry Foyleside Dep 4:54 Arr 8:55
Travelling by car
The hotel provides free car parking, with room for 120 cars. There is additional parking at NCP behind McAvoy’s Clothes Shop, Monaghan Street.Accommodation
A limited number of rooms for overnight accommodation may be reserved directly with the hotel at the preferential rates as belowNUM 2024 Accommodation Rates
DateSingle B&B Rate Double B&B Rate Thursday 10 October £85 £139 Friday 11 October £99 £185 Saturday 12 October £99 £185 To reserve your room at The Canal Court Hotel | 4 Star Hotel in Newry, Northern Ireland please email the hotel at manager@canalcourthotel.com or telephone +44 (0) 28 3025 1234 and reference “IICN Conference” to secure the accommodation rate.
The IICN greatly appreciates the support of our sponsors and encourages delegates to visit their exhibition stands at the meeting
Lundbeck Clonmel Healthcare Novartis Ireland Roche Products AbbVie Angelini Pharma Alnylam Teva Pharmaceuticals Neuraxpharm Biogen Ireland Nutricia Merck Pharmaceuticals Viatris Pfizer Fannin We would be most grateful if you could complete this feedback form for us after attending the meeting.
Neurology Update Meeting 2024 Sponsors
Pfizer
teva
Viatris
Angelini Pharmaceuticals
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Novartis
Nutricia
Biogen
Roche
Clonmel Healthcare
Lundbeck
Abbvie
Fannin
