Abstract
The 8th APCCB will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11–16 October 1998. This approximately trienniel event will be organised by the Malaysian Association of Clinical Biochemistry (MACB) and will be held under the auspices of the Asian-Pacific Federation of Clinical Biochemistry (APFCB). The venue of the Congress will be the Putra World Trade Centre, the foremost convention centre within the city.
Scientific Activities
The Scientific Programme: A wide and varied scientific programme has been planned with speakers from the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the USA. There will be something for everyone with an interest in clinical biochemistry. Presentations on technology will feature prominently in the Congress and indeed the keynote speaker will be Prof. Peter Wilding (USA), who will deliver an address on New technology for the clinical laboratory: large scale robotics or microchips?. There will be at least one plenary a day and among the confirmed topics are: Artificial cells (TMS Chang, USA); Future world-wide trend of clinical pathology/laboratory medicine (T Kawai, Japan); and, Apoptosis (Yves Pommier, USA).
Symposia, each with 3–6 speakers, will form the remainder of the main scientific programme; the topics will include: molecular biology; free radicals; antibody engineering/immunoassay; information technology (and related areas); and, point-of-care testing. There will be two symposia on New frontiers in technology and among the featured speakers in these will be Robin Felder and Larry Kricka of the USA, and, Masahide Sasaki of Japan. Proffered papers will be exhibited as posters.
Workshops
The Pre-Congress Workshops which have been planned are: Molecular Biology in Clinical Biochemistry; Interactive Multi-Media Teaching; and, Immunoassay. These will be conducted by experts from the USA, UK and Japan, respectively, and will only be held if a the minimum of 40 participants register for each.
Training Course
A one-day course entitled, “Updates in Clinical Biochemistry” will be held in conjunction with the Congress. This will consist of lectures, on diagnostic enzymology (2 lectures), endocrinology (2 lectures), diabetes mellitus, QA, and cardiac markers, delivered by faculty from Australia and the UK. The course will only be held if a minimum of 40 participants register for it.
Industry Participation
The Congress will host a Trade Exhibition. Industry participation is crucial to the success of any meeting and most of the better-known manufacturers have signed up as sponsors of the various events and/or exhibitors; these include Abbott, AVL, Beckman-Coulter, Behring-Dade, Chiron, Radiometer, Randox, Roche (with Boehringer-Mannheim) and Tosoh. A number of product launches are expected to take place and several companies have indicated that they will hold industrial workshops. Also participating in the Trade Exhibition will be the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and a number of national associations.
Publicity
The 8th APCCB has been widely promoted in various ways, both within and outside the Asia-Pacific region. Teams and individuals from the Organising Committee have publicised the Congress at national and international meetings in Bangkok (at the 7th APCCB), London, Darwin, Atlanta (AACC), Yokohama and Perth. In addition, the 8th APCCB web-site will carry, inter alia, the full scientific programme.
Other Activities
We will try to offer the two essential ingredients of a successful meeting: good science and good fun. The social programme will attempt to reflect the culture of the country. Malaysia is an exotic, tropical destination for tourists and the cheaper Malaysian ringgit (vis-a-vis the US $) has recently made it even more attractive.
The country boasts numerous holiday spots which include hill, jungle, golf, island and seaside resorts, all of which are reasonably priced. Pre-/post-Congress package tours and individual travel arrangements may be made through the Congress-appointed travel agent, Reliance, or the official carrier, Malaysia Airlines (MAS).
The Final Announcement should be available by April. For further information, please contact:
The Secretariat
8th APCCB
Institute for Medical Research
Jalan Pahang 50588
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Fax: + 60-3-7555418
Web-site: http://imr.gov.my/apccb98.htm
E-mail:
Reliance Sightseeing, Lot T125-T127, 3rd F1, Sungei Wang Plaza, Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50250 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Fax: 60-3-2441469; e-mail:
Joseph Lopez
Organising Committee
8th APCCB;
Vice-President Malaysian Association of Clinical Biochemists