WELCOME

Dear Colleagues

It is a great pleasure to let you know about “Innovations and Progress in Healthcare for Women” a major international meeting convened by the UCL Institute for Women’s Health from April 7-8, 2008 at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Westminster. You will notice that the registration fee is extraordinarily low for a 2 day meeting of this quality at such a prestigious venue. This is possible because of generous sponsorship the Institute has received and is a deliberate effort to ensure that participants from a range of backgrounds and seniority in women’s health are able to register for the meeting.

The primary purpose of this meeting is to engage talented and committed individuals with the mission of the Institute to make a difference to the health of women nationally and globally. We are keen to involve staff in training posts as well as those more senior from a broad range of disciplines including nurses, doctors, midwives, surgeons, laboratory scientists, epidemiologists, sociologists, geneticists, psychologists and others. Participants are encouraged to submit abstracts and there will be both oral and poster presentations alongside the invited expert talks.

As you will see from the Preliminary Programme, the meeting will bring together a group of international experts (note the outstanding list of confirmed speakers) to address a range of ‘Themes’:
Maternal and Neonatal Health
Reproductive Health
Cancer
and a series of cross cutting ‘Topics’:
Advances in Basic Science
Progress in Translational Research
Innovation in Clinical Care
Developments in Health Care Organisation
Implications for the Developing World

The timetable has also been carefully organised so that participants can either focus on each of the 3 ‘Themes’ or organise their schedule around one of the cross cutting ‘Topics’ in several ‘Themes’.

This meeting is a key step in the development of the UCL Institute for Women’s Health which was established in 2004 with the objective of making a major contribution to the health of women, in the UK and internationally through research innovation, educational programmes and clinical excellence. Our objective is to involve a broad range of researchers, educators and clinicians with a focus on women’s health issues. This meeting will bring together individuals from a broad range of disciplines who share a determination to bring an integrated holistic approach to research and education in women’s health which will have an impact on patient care and the health of women.

I hope very much that you will register to participate, submit an abstract, contribute to the success of the meeting and establish an ongoing link with the work of the Institute. Your involvement will be enormously welcomed and valued.

Best wishes

Professor Ian Jacobs
Director UCL Institute for Women’s Health