Lille, France, August 2009

The 3rd European CF Young Investigator Meeting was held in Lille (France) from 25 – 28 August 2009. For this 2009 edition CFE invited all member associations from across Europe to send out a call for abstracts to their young investigator’s resulting in candidates from 12 countries (from as far north as Sweden and as far south as Oman and from France to Ukraine!). This scientific meeting is organized in collaboration with the CF associations of France, Germany, Holland, Belgium and Italy and the ECFS. It aims at fostering interactions between young scientists in order to create a long-term collaborative European network of CF investigators. We stimulate young researchers to continue investing in CF Research by offering them a forum for exchange and a change to present their work at an international meeting, covering all fields in research and clinical CF research. Fifty young investigators (under 35 year-old) are selected by an international scientific committee in order to present their work on CF. Sessions per topic are introduced and moderated by leading European senior scientists. The EYIM provides a unique opportunity for young scientists for training, sharing experiences and networking. Enclosed you find a report of the Young Researcher who had to travel the longest distance to attend the meeting, all the way from Ukraine.

REPORT 3RD EUROPEAN YOUNG INVESTIGATORS MEETING

Name:	Olena Bilevych
Position:	Senior laboratory assistant at Diagnostics of Hereditary Pathology Department, Institute of Hereditary Pathology of Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine.
Address:	Institute of Hereditary Pathology of AMS, 31-a Lysenko str., Lviv, 79008 Ukraine
Contact:	+380322765499, +380501349984,

I took part in the 3rd European CF Young Investigator Meeting from 25-28 August 2009. I’m very interested in this activity because of the actuality of Cystic Fibrosis diagnostics in Ukraine. Every year 250 CF children are expected to be born in Ukraine (total population 48 million inhabitants). In Ukraine numerous CF patients are never diagnosed and some patients die too young, but also there are many false positive CF diagnoses.

There are differences between the CF patients’ management in the different regions of Ukraine. CF patients from the Western region of Ukraine pass sweat test and molecular-genetic analysis of CFTR mutations at the Institute of Hereditary Pathology and as a rule receive treatment in Lviv Regional Specialised Children's Hospital. CFTR gene mutations analysis is performed in two centres only: in Kyiv – the capital of Ukraine and in Lviv (Western region of the country).

I am a senior laboratory assistant of the research group which performs molecular-genetics testing of CFTR mutations as well others diseases (Phenylketonuria, Nijmegen breakage syndrome (NBS), Dystrophy, ATM, SMN1 gene mutations, Y-chromosome microdeletions and MTHFR, MTR, MTRR, IL-10, VDR-3 gene polymorphisms).

My oral presentation “The prevalence of C282Y and H63D mutations of HFE gene among Cystic Fibrosis patients homozygous for F508del” was included in 3rd European CF Young Investigator Meeting program. This allowed discussing problems occurring in our CF diagnostics centre together with the highest qualified European experts in the field of CF diagnostics. Also, I received invaluable possibilities of personal contacts with them.
Without this fellowship of CF Europe and the national CF associations I could not attend the 3rd European CF Young Investigator Meeting because my Institution couldn’t paid my travel and accommodation expenses.

I am very grateful to CF Europe and all local organizers for this opportunity to take part in the 3rd European CF Young Investigator Meeting, Lille, France, 25 -28 August, 2009.