ESRS Newsletter October 2024

It is both an honour and a privilege to address you as the newly elected President of the European Sleep Research Society (ESRS). I want to express my deep gratitude for the trust you have placed in me. As I embark on this journey with you, I am filled with a sense of responsibility and excitement for the future of our society and the impact we can make together in the field of sleep science.

Strengthening Our Commitment

Our society’s mission has always been to be the voice of sleep in Europe. As we move forward, I am proud to share that the newly elected board reflects an important evolution within the ESRS. We have for the first time a balanced representation of women and men in our board. The board also equally represents both sleep research and sleep medicine as well as diverse countries across our society. This diversity strengthens our capacity to address the multifaceted challenges in sleep science with a comprehensive approach that benefits both researchers and clinicians alike.

Reflecting on Sleep Europe 2024 in Seville

I am still basking in the afterglow of our recently concluded congress, Sleep Europe 2024, in Seville, Spain. It was truly inspiring to reunite with so many of you, to share knowledge, network, and foster collaboration. With more than 3,500+ delegates attending on-site and over 160+ online participants, Sleep Europe 2024 was a record-breaking event—the largest congress in ESRS history.

If you were among the attendees, thank you for contributing to this incredible gathering of minds dedicated to sleep science. Your presence made this congress a success, and I am confident that the ideas and collaborations fostered in Seville will drive our field forward.

As you know, the society voting moved out of the ESRS Business Meeting this year to make voting more accessible. We are pleased to acknowledge that more members voted in this election than in 2022 on all accounts. In 2022, during the Business Meeting in Athens, where we used an electronic voting tool for in meeting voting, 114 members voted on the Bylaws amendments; in 2024, 176 members voted on Bylaws amendments. This number greatly increased for member elections where a record of 378 members voted in 2024 as compared to 137 in 2022. Finally, 247 members voted for the location of the 2028 congress as compared to the 117 votes cast for the location of the 2026 congress. Overall, the voting members are still less than 50% of the membership but we have reached more members with the first year of online voting and hope to see the number increase with each subsequent online election. 

In voting in the new Board, we said goodbye to several Board members. Prof. Dr. Dirk Pevernagie completed his term as Clinical Vice President after four years in the position; Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Landolt completed eight years of service as Treasurer; Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Plazzi concluded his role as Assistant Secretary and Prof Dr. Walter McNicholas concluded his advisory role as Past President. We thank them their dedication and important service to ESRS over the years, which has helped shape the our society in new and improved ways. At the same time we extend a warm welcome to the new board members: Clinical Vice President Dr. Barbara Gnidovec Stražišar, Treasurer Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kerstin Hoedlmoser, Secretary Prof. Dr. Ysbrand van der Werf, Member-at-large Prof. Dr. Winfried Randerath and Dr. Adriana Michalak as the new Early Career Network representative. Together we will continue to develop the society with all of you members to make us even stronger and better for the future.

During the Business Meeting, a member asked for a platform for discussion and I see that this is something we can work on improving in the next meeting. I would also like to extend my congratulations to the newly elected Scientific Committee members, we look forward to your engagement and ideas for continuous improvement of the scientific content of Sleep Europe and thank the Scientific Committee for their commitment to making Sleep Europe 2024 the best ESRS conference yet. With an expanded team of 16 members, we are embracing a broader range of expertise and perspectives, empowering us to push the boundaries of sleep science. We are excited to see how your contributions will inspire progress, foster innovation, and help drive the next great advancements in our field.

Furthermore, following the online voting process, new amendments to the Bylaws have been officially approved and are now in effect. This includes the change of the ‘Assistant Secretary’ position to ‘Member-at-large’; the voting period for both elections and bylaw changes has been reduced from 14 to 10 days; and new rules have also been introduced, extending to all committees and working groups. Never before have as many ESRS members voted in our elections, a true success for our society.

The 28th Congress of ESRS will be held in Maastricht, Netherlands, 20-23 October 2026 – save the dates now.

Speaking of future congresses, Sleep Europe 2028 will take place in Edinburgh, Scotland, as decided by the membership in the online voting and we look forward to working closely with the British Sleep Society.

Invitation to Upcoming Webinar on Narcolepsy – 15 October

Looking ahead, I am pleased to extend an invitation to a joint webinar organised by the ESRS and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) on 15 October 2024, from 16:00 to 17:00 CEST. Experts Dr. Mitchell Miglis and Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Plazzi will share the latest developments in narcolepsy research and treatment. This webinar provides an excellent opportunity for members to engage directly with these leading authorities in the field, and I encourage all interested members to participate in what promises to be an informative and enriching session.