Abstract
LymphWalk 2021
On Saturday, April 17, 2021, the lymphatic disease (LD) community raised more than $155,000 for LD education, research, and advocacy at the Global Virtual Run/Walk to Fight Lymphatic Diseases. We counted 57 teams and 389 registered runners/walkers at the event who came together to celebrate all we have accomplished and to honor our heroes in the cause. The event was emceed by Actor Steve Guttenberg.
Boston Lymphatic Symposium
The Boston Lymphatic Symposium is hosted by the Boston Lymphatic Center, a joint program between the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Boston Children's Hospital, teaching affiliates of Harvard Medical School. The Patient Symposium will be held October 30, 2021 and the Clinical Symposium will be held November 5–6, 2021. Visit their website, bostonlymphaticsymposium.org, for more information and to register. The Boston Lymphatic Center is a Comprehensive Center of Excellence and the symposium is held in partnership with Lymphatic Education & Research Network (LE&RN).
Fellowship Opportunities in Lymphatics
There are five announcements for postdoctoral positions on complex lymphatic anomalies (kaposiform lymphangiomatosis, Gorham–Stout disease, generalized lymphatic anomaly, and central conducting lymphatic anomaly) on the LE&RN website at lymphaticnetwork.org/treating-lymphedema/fellowship-opportunities.
Advocacy
We await a report from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in compliance with Congress' Appropriation Bill request for them to establish a National Commission on LD. We expect an announcement soon from the CDC on the grant for chronic disease awareness projects for which we have lobbied.
Patient Advocacy at the American Medical Association
In mid-December 2020, LE&RN President and CEO William Repicci wrote to constituents, urging them to make their voices heard at the American Medical Association (AMA) by e-mailing their stories to AMA CEO and Executive Vice President Dr. James Madara. The letters are now available on LE&RN's website at www.lymphaticnetwork.org/news-events/ama-stories.
Lymphedema Treatment Act
In March, the Lymphedema Advocacy Group announced that the U.S. Senate reintroduced the Lymphedema Treatment Act (LTA) and that the House of Representatives will be reintroducing a House version of the bill. Visit the LTA's website, lymphedematreatmentact.org, for more information.
Centers of Excellence
Interest and participation in LE&RN Centers of Excellence (COE) continues to grow. In December 2020, LE&RN received 20 Letters of Interest. These will be evaluated by the established Global Oversight Committee, which will then invite selected institutions to complete full COE applications. There are now 25 COE, which are working with the patient and therapist communities to establish Affiliate Boards to improve patient outcomes and promote greater collaboration.
Symposium Series
LE&RN Symposiums have had a steadily increasing audience as the world has moved online. Live online symposiums are held several times over the course of the year. Registration is announced on LE&RN's website. Please check for upcoming events. All past LE&RN Symposiums can be found on LE&RN's website at https://lymphaticnetwork.org/video-resources.
LE&RN Creates Lymphatic Researcher Database for NIH
At NIH's request, LE&RN has created a Lymphatic Researcher Database (https://lymphaticnetwork.org/treating-lymphedema/researchers) to keep NIH informed of the lymphatic research being pursued worldwide. LE&RN now needs all lymphatic researchers to submit information for this webpage by contacting LE&RN at LERN@LymphaticNetwork.org. Research names, institutions, PubMed weblinks, and brief research descriptions will appear on this page, searchable by name, institution, or topic. All 27 NIH Institutes and Centers have been provided this weblink. This initiative grew out of the efforts of the Trans-NIH Lymphatics Coordinating Committee.
Online Summit: State-of-the-Art Lymphatic Medicine
The Centers of Excellence 2020 Summit, State-of-the-Art Lymphatic Medicine is now available for purchase at https://lymphaticnetwork.org/site/stateoftheart. General registration is $25 and CME registration is available for $75. The Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning designates this activity for a maximum of 8.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. The online summit features talk by leading authorities in lymphatic medicine and spotlights LE&RN Centers of Excellence. Organized by Dr. Stan Rockson, this recorded event begins with a welcome by LE&RN Spokesperson and Academy Award winner, Kathy Bates.
