Report of The British Peripheral Nerve Society Teaching Day and Spring Meeting March 2026
The British Peripheral Nerve Society Teaching Day and Spring Meeting took place on March 19 – 20th under the guidance of Dr. John McConville, Consultant Neurologist, Ulster Hospital Dundonald.
The meeting, hailed as a huge success, was held in the auspicious Titanic Hotel and Dr McConville welcomed all in attendance as well as those delegates attending on-line. He opened the meeting by welcoming BPNS members, presenters, judges, delegates, guests and sponsors. The Conference provided an ideal opportunity to showcase Belfast in all it’s glory. He enthused, “I am delighted to have you join us for what promises to be an inspiring and productive meeting.” Beautiful, sunny weather with the backdrop of maritime Belfast contributed to making the few days a wonderful success and a memorable one.
Under the banner, ‘Promoting clinical education and knowledge of peripheral nerve diseases,’ both days did in fact prove to be informative, educational and extremely helpful to all who attended and contributed. The coffee and lunch breaks allowed the delegates an informal, welcome space to re-acquaint with each other and make new connections.
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A particular thanks goes to the excellent invited speakers who enlightened us with their talks:
– Dr Nicholas Sanderson, Clinical Neuroimmunology Laboratory, University of Basel who spoke on ‘Molecular mechanisms of complement activation in autoantibody-driven diseases’
– Dr Grace McMacken Academic Clinical Lecturer, Queen’s University Belfast speaking on ‘Hereditary Neuropathies with vocal cord paralysis: A Northern Irish Experience’
– Professor Anna Olsson-Brown, Consultant Medical Oncologist and Professor of Clinical Oncology and Clinical Trials, University College Cork and Cork University Hospital , who lead our discussion forum on ‘CIPN (and beyond): A Problem for Oncology or Neurology?’ -
BPNS Spring Meeting 2026 Prizewinners.
There were two resident doctor book prizes of £500 for first prize and £300 runner-up prize which were awarded for the best presentations.
First Prize went to Dr Eva Tallon, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin for her presentation, “A Rare Cause of Foot Drop: Primary Lymphona of the Peripheral Nerve.” 
Second prize was awarded to Dr Marie Ryan, UCL, Queen’s Square for her presentation, “Long Journey, Early Stop – Prion Protein Systemic Amyloidosis.” -
At the close of the meeting chief organiser, Dr Aisling Carr extended her gratitude to:
• All the staff at The Titanic Hotel Belfast.
• The Audio-Visual team who was extremely helpful to all the presenters ensuring that all their abstracts were displayed and presented in the best possible way.
• The photographer Ms Katie Jackson
• Ms Erin Carr and Mia Pudlo for facilitating the roving mic.
• Ms Mary McConville for registration and administrative duties.Finally Dr McConville thanked the sponsors and added that without their support this event would not have been possible.
Argenx
CSL Behring
Takeda
Grifols
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