Symposium Preventie Astma en Allergieën

Symposium Programme (in English)

• Day 1: Monday March 10th

  The program on the first symposium day (see below) has 12 compact keynotes structured around 4 themes. Each session includes three presentations and a plenary discussion. 
  Language: English

  Program | March 10, 2025  
  Exchange of scientific progress and future implementation (societal impact)
  Venue open from 9.00 hr. Program starts at 9.30 hr. 

  Introduction
  9.00 hr Venue open, arrival participants, coffee & tea
  9.30 hr Welcome by Károly Illy, director of Longfonds 
  9.35 hr Introduction by Hermelijn Smits: consortium leader ‘A World without Asthma’

  Dietary interventions & Gut microbiome
  Moderator: prof.dr. Erika von Mutius
  9.50 hr Prof.dr. Ben Marsland | Monash University, Australia - Harnessing microbial metabolites to combat asthma and allergies
  10.10 hr Prof.dr. Markus Ege | Dr. von Hauner Children’s Hospital Munich, Germany - Martha trial – first results
  10.30 hr Prof.dr. Klaus Bønnelykke |COPSAC | University of Copenhagen, Denmark - Fish oil and vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy for prevention of childhood asthma
  10.50 hr Plenary discussion

  What is it about farming? Environmental microbes
  Moderator: prof.dr. Klaus Bønnelykke
  11.35 hr Prof.dr.med.dr.h.c. Erika von Mutius | Helmholtz Zentrum München Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Umwelt und Gesundheit, Institute for Asthma and Allergy Prevention, Neuherberg, Germany - From epidemiology to dust
  11.55 hr Prof.dr. Hamida Hammad | Ghent University, Belgium - Dusty roads to protection in neonatal models 
  12.15 hr Dr. Aki Sinkkonen | Natural Resources Institute Finland - Playing with dirt – impact from a natural habitat
  12.35 hr Plenary discussion

  12.50 – 13.50 During this 60 minute lunch break you have the opportunity to visit the Naturalis exhibitions 

  Respiratory epithelium: chicken or egg
  Moderator: prof.dr. Ben Marsland
  13.55 hr Prof.dr. Pieter S. Hiemstra | PulmoScience Lab, Department of Pulmonology, Leiden, The Netherlands - Epithelial responses to respiratory viruses provide protection and cause disease 
  14.15 hr Prof.dr. Gerard Koppelman | University of Groningen, the Netherlands - Epithelial hillock to squamous differentiation characterizes pre-asthma 
  14.35 hr Prof.dr. Sejal Saglani | Imperial College London, United Kingdom - It's all context: structural and airway immune cells
  14.55 hr Plenary discussion

  15.15 – 16.10 Tea break

  (Evolutionary) engineered precision medicine molecules
  Moderator: prof.dr. Hermelijn Smits
  16.15 hr Dr. Henry J. McSorley |University of Dundee, United Kingdom - De-arming the alarmins using parasite proteins
  16.35 hr Prof.dr. Rick Maizels | University of Glasgow, United Kingdom - Mix & Match: cell-directed immunotherapy 
  16.55 hr Prof.dr. Anke-Hilse Maitland-van der Zee | Amsterdam UMC - Precision medicine and prevention of chronic long diseases
  17.15 hr Plenary discussion

  17.30 hr Prof.dr. Hermelijn Smits > Wrap-up and take home message

  17.45 > Aftertalks, drinks and bites at the venue & possibility to join us for dinner in Leiden

• Day 2: Tuesday March 11th

  The focus on the second symposium day will be on the direct link between biodiversity, our microbiome and the prevention of asthma and allergies. Today has  2 inspiring keynotes and two break-out sessions.
  The first key note will be delivered by Tari Haahtela, leader of the successful Finnish Allergy and Asthma Program. This programme offers proof that relatively simple lifestyle interventions help protect children from asthma and allergies. In the afternoon Marco van Es (Bac2Nature Foundation) will help us see the importance of biodiversity and its impact on our health. 
  
  Today’s goal is to find out -with the Finnish program as proof and inspiration- which steps can be taken to implement a similar approach in the Netherlands. Recognizing the increasing urbanization in the Netherlands resulting in many children growing up in cities, we will explore how to leverage current knowledge and putative microbial-based ‘lessons’ to adapt (urban) lifestyles effectively and prevent childhood asthma and allergies.
  Language: English till 1100, after the talk of Tari Haahtela and the plenary discussion we will continue in Dutch

  Program | March 11, 2025  
  Translation of scientific insights on the prevention of childhood asthma and allergies so that next steps can be defined. Today’s goal is to discuss how the successes of the Finnish program can be implemented in the Netherlands and ensure that the next first steps for follow-up are clear.

  Venue open from 9.00 hr. Program starts at 9.30 hr. 

  Introduction
  9.00 hr Venue open, arrival participants
  9.30 hr Welcome by Károly Illy, director of Longfonds 
  9.40 hr Introduction by prof.dr. Hermelijn Smits | Leiden University Medical Center, the Netherlands & Consortium leader A World without Asthma
  9.50 hr The Impact of Asthma | Setareh Anceri-Foumani (experience expert)
  10.05 hr Keynote | Em.prof.dr. Tari Haahtela | University of Helsinki - The Finnish Allergy Programme: from Biodiversity Hypothesis to Action Plan
  Approx. 10.45 hr Plenary discussion 

  Fifteen minute break for coffee and tea. After the break, we will continue in Dutch.
  
  11.10 hr Break-out 1 (smaller group discussions): What can we learn from the Finnish programme? What worked well, what barriers needed to be taken away in Finland and which interventions could work in the Netherlands? 
  12.10 hr Plenary discussion/conclusions

  Lunch (12.25 – 13.25). Opportunity to visit the Naturalis exhibitions (included in the participation fee). 

  PLEASE NOTE: The afternoon programme will be in Dutch
  13.30 hr Prevention is key | guest speech by a representative of the Dutch public health organisation GGD (to be confirmed)
  13.50 hr Keynote | Marco van Es | Founder Bac2Nature Foundation - The symbiotic relationship between biodiversity, our microbiome and our health – how can we restore this relationship?
  14.25 hr Plenary discussion/conclusions

  Short break (coffee & tea on the go)
  
  14.55 hr Break-out 2 (smaller group discussions): Which aspects of the keynote appeal to you? How can we use this knowledge to create a roadmap for the next steps of implementation in the Netherlands? Which parties can we involve? What opportunities are there, and how can we effectively leverage them?
  15.55 hr Plenary discussion on possibilities of implementation
  16.25 hr Conclusion of the day & definition next steps

  17.00 > Aftertalks, drinks and bites at the venue

Zeven jaar lang richtte het internationale LONGFONDS | Accelerate onderzoeksconsortium ‘A World Without Asthma’ zich, onder leiding van prof.dr. Hermelijn Smits, op mogelijke interventies. Dat leidde tot bijzondere inzichten en resultaten die we delen met het Nederlandse onderzoeksveld, zorgprofessionals en diverse stakeholders en beleidsmakers.