Meeting Update! Save the date!
The 22nd ICHS International Symposium on Infections in the Immunocompromised Host will be held 8 - 11 September, 2022 in Basel Switzerland.
Please take a moment to preview the Basel meeting with this short video.
Please check back here for meeting news and updates.
Noteworthy: Dr Dimitrios P Kontoyiannis, past ICHS president, is pleased to share the recent Aspergillosis in SCT guidelines that they were just published from The American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, where he had the honor to serve as the senior chair of the writing committee. These short guidelines might be useful for the SCT, Leuk ID rotations as they try to put a (relative) structure to a complex and rapidly changing area, in view of the drug-drug interactions we see with leukemia/lymphoma/SCT drugs. ******************************** Dr Dimitrios P Kontoyiannis, past ICHS president, is pleased to share the Core Recommendations for Antifungal Stewardship (to be published as supplement in JID Sept 1, 2020) he spearheaded on behalf of the Mycoses Study Group Education and Research Consortium (MSGERC). The 21st ICHS Symposium has concluded.
Thank you again for attending last week's 21st ICHS Symposium on Infections in the Immunocompromised Host. We hope you had an enjoyable experience and have come away with new knowledge and network opportunities. Please review the winners of the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Young investigator Awards, as well as awards for best abstracts and posters. These presentations were made during the closing ceremony. A reminder that
presentation recordings will be available to all registered attendees via the
virtual portal, using the same login details for the next three months.
An update from the ICHS meeting in Athens The field of clinical and translational research in febrile neutropenia started in the early1960s with the classic autopsy studies at NCI in patients with leukemia, followed by the seminal work by Gerald Bodey about the quantitative relationships between circulating leukocytes and infection in patients with acute leukemia. Other giants of that era built on these observations and defined the practice of antibiotic and antifungal management in these patients. ICHS had pivotal contributions in organizing guidelines for the design, analysis, reporting of clinical trials on the antibiotic management in that vulnerable patient population (JID 1990; 161: 397-401) . It was befitting that Philip Pizzo one of the trailblazers of that era and an early founder of ICHS was the inaugural speaker of the Athens ICHS 2018 meeting, a meeting that reflected on the 40 year history of ICHS and over half of century studies in the field of clinical research infections in neutropenic cancer patients. His thoughtful talk, was the ímpetus for a comprehensive piece that was recently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine (Management of Patients With Fever and Neutropenia Through the Arc of Time: A Narrative Review.) Dimitrios P Kontoyiannis, MD, ScD, PhD (Hon)
| in memoriam *************************** Robert William Finberg, MD We sadly regret to announce that Robert W. Finberg, MD, distinguished professor of medicine and chair emeritus of the Department of Medicine, UMass Medical School, died unexpectedly on August 30, 2021 at the age of 71. Dr Finberg was a personable individual with an approachable style that made him an effective leader, clinician, researcher, teacher and colleague. He was an ardent supporter of the ICHS and its mission to improve outcomes for the immunocompromised host. He served as a Council member from 2012 to 2016 and regularly attended ICHS meetings. He facilitated NIH grants for junior colleagues and those from developing countries to attend the ICHS meetings. Dr Finberg was an Infectious Disease clinician specializing in the care of immunocompromised hosts, and in particular, cancer patients, and transplant recipients. As one of the nation’s foremost virologists, his professional contributions included more than 300 publications, more than 40 years of continuous NIH funding and numerous research grants from the Department of Defense, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and others. His research was in the area of virus receptors, host responses to viruses, and the development of new approaches to the study of evolution of viruses as well as antiviral and anti-bacterial agents. With the advent of the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Finberg quickly became a valuable resource providing clear, concise and insightful expertise and invaluable guidance in uncertain times. He served as principal investigator on more than half a dozen COVID-19 clinical trials including those to test the safety and effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and remdesivir as a treatment for those with severe COVID-19 illness. Dr Finberg was a devoted husband, father and grandfather with many friends in the Immunocompromised Host community. The ICHS International Council extends our deepest condolences to Dr. Finberg’s family in his unexpected loss. **********************************************************  Jack Remington, MD, former president of ICHS, (1988 - 1990) and organizer of the 6th International Symposium on Infections in the Immunocompromised Host, 1990, Peebles, Scotland, and professor emeritus of infectious diseases at Stanford Medicine, has recently died. He was 90. “Dr. Remington was a towering figure in modern infectious diseases and one of the pioneers of the concept of immunocompromised host, reactivation of latent pathogens in the context of immune dysfunction, opportunistic infections. His groundbreaking pre-clinical and clinical work on the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii has defined a whole field and saved the lives of countless of patients” said Dimitrios Kontoyiannis, MD, former ICHS president (2016-2018). Philip Pizzo, MD, former president of ICHS (1998 - 2000) and a close friend and mentee also stated “Jack was an iconic person in infectious diseases and helped pioneer the importance of ‘immunocompromised hosts’. He was an outstanding scientist, an exceptional clinician and a remarkable friend and colleague. I had the privilege of benefiting from his wisdom and counsel for over 4 decades. He will be deeply missed, but his contributions to science and medicine and the ICHS will endure”. ICHS expresses its profound appreciation of Dr. Remington’s outstanding contributions to our Society and to our field of immunocompromised hosts.
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Please visit "Farewell, Franscisco" in an editorial penned by our current ICHS president Hans H. Hirsch. ******************************************* Meet our new President!
FMH Infectious Diseases, FMH Internal Medicine, FAMH Medical Microbiology. Research: Transplantation & Clinical Virology; Department Biomedicine, Medical Faculty, University of Basel Diagnostics: Clinical Virology, Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital Basel; Clinics: Infectious Diseases & Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland. Hans H. Hirsch studied medicine at the Albert-Ludwigs-University in Freiburg (Germany) and biochemistry at the Oregon State University (OR, USA). He then specialized in internal medicine, infectious diseases, and medical microbiology at the University of Basel and the University Hospital Basel. In 2004, the Medical Faculty of the University of Basel appointed him as tenure track Professor with promotion to full professor in 2017. Currently, Dr. Hirsch is director of the Clinical Virology diagnostic laboratory and he holds a senior clinical appointment as consultant in Infectious Diseases at the University Hospital Basel. Dr. Hirsch heads the research group “Transplantation & Clinical Virology” and has (co-)authored more than 200 peer-reviewed papers. Dr Hirsch has contributed to relevant textbooks, conferences and guidelines in virology, infectious diseases, and transplantation. Dr Hirsch has been Co-Editor-in-Chief for Transplant Infectious Disease from 2004 – 2020, associate editor or editorial board member of a number of journals incl. Transplantation, Am J Transplantation, Clin Infectious Diseases, J Virology, J Clin Virology, J Clin Microbiology, and ad-hoc reviewer for numerous high-impact journals. Dr Hirsch is an active member of the International Immunocompromised Host Society (ICHS) since 2004 and the current ICHS president. MORE Hear from our Council! Several members of our International Council have recorded messages about the ICHS Society and the 2021 Symposium. Click here to hear what they have to say!
 Looking for new opportunities? ICHS is helping to support our community by advertising employment opportunities.
Please visit the MSGERC Mycoses Study Group Education & Research Consortium website MSGERC.ORG to keep up with the latest news!
Be sure to visit the NEW Doctor Fungus Website at msgercdoctorfungus.com/ You'll find a wealth of valuable information!
European Conference on Infections in Leukaemia (ECIL) news
We are pleased to inform you that the final slide sets of the ECIL 7 working groups CMV, HHV6 and vaccines are now available on the ECIL website at www.ecil-leukaemia.com. You will find these sets in the Program section. ECIL Guidelines Don't forget to review the new ECIL Guidelines
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The International Immunocompromised Host Society sadly announces that Francisco M. Marty, MD passed from this life on April 8, 2021 due to an accident while vacationing in the Dominican Republic. Francisco was kind and upbeat and was a true Transplant/Oncology ID leader, who will be remembered as a brilliant mentor to many. Francisco was a dedicated clinician and teacher, particularly in the field of diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of infectious diseases in immunocompromised patients. His contributions to the field are enormous, with participation in over 170 peer reviewed publications including several seminal cutting-edge contributions in the world's best journals. In addition to his dedication to his patients and to his scientific research, Francisco was a passionate photographer. ICHS sends its condolences to his family and friends. May he rest in peace.
Hans Hellmuth Hirsch, MD, MSc, Professor
