The past Executive Committee of the ISDE, under the guidance of past President Mark Ferguson, has significantly improved the structure and functioning of the Society. The ISDE is now working with management professionals from ICS events to further increase the visibility of the Society as well as benefits to its membership. The membership includes a subscription to the Society’s journal, Diseases of the Esophagus, whose international reputation and impact has steadily increasing over the last few years. The ISDE has also focused special attention on physicians in training, who continue to benefit from a substantially reduced entry-level membership fee that includes electronic access to Diseases of the Esophagus journal. In addition, at the biennial Congress, special efforts were made and will continue to be made, to make it attractive and feasible for trainees to attend.

The new ISDE Executive Committee is looking to continue the growth as well as increase the impact of the Society. In addition, the ISDE will work on generating international guidelines and on developing its website into an attractive and useful resource, for both physicians and scientists dealing with esophageal disease. The ISDE is already very active in planning the scientific programme for the 2012 Congress, which is being held in Venice, Italy in October 2012, with Prof. G. Zaninotto and Prof. E. Ancona as co-chairs. As the field of esophageal disease continues its rapid evolution, we are confident that the Congress will again be a high caliber meeting with cutting-edge science and new clinical insights. Block these dates in your agenda if you want to stay up-to-date in esophagology...

2012 Congress: October 15 - 18, 2012, Venice Italy.

I hope you will renew your membership with ISDE (or join us for the first time) in 2011: the future of esophagology, and of this vital Society in particular, looks very bright. A solid membership base will allow us to expand our educational and research opportunities, and do not forget to mark the next Congress dates of in your agenda.

Yours Sincerely,

Jan Tack, M.D., Ph.D.