Leadership

Congress Scientific Program Committee

David John Burn
Chair		 Victor Fung
Co-Chair

 

MDS Staff Liaison: Jenny Quebbeman

 

Committee Purpose:
To develop the scientific program for the International Congress.

Q: What is the role of the CSPC?

A: The CSPC plans and organizes the annual congress scientific program of The Movement Disorder Society (MDS). The CSPC also selects the nominees for the Fahn and Marsden lectures.

Q: Who are the members of the CSPC?

A: The CSPC consists of a Chair that is selected by the MDS President for a term of two years. The Chair of the CSPC is assisted in his/her tasks by three co-chairs: the Chair of the local committee from the preceding Congress; the Chair of the local committee for Congress in preparation, and the Chair of the local committee for the upcoming Congress; thus the composition of the CSPC co-chairs changes every year.

In addition, the CSPC is comprised of approximately 20 regular members (see below) who are nominated by the Chair of the CSPC. After approval by the MDS President, these experts are invited to serve for a period of two years; yet, to assure both continuity and renewal, every year approximately 50% of the committee is changed. All members are renowned experts in a specific field of Movement Disorders raging from clinical practice to basic science and represent different regions of the world. The CSPC is also comprised of ad-hoc members: the current MDS President; one of the two current editors of the Movement Disorders Journal; the Chair of the Education Committee; the Chair of the Industrial Relations Committee; the Chair of the Continuing Medical Education Committee and the Chair of the International Congress Oversight Committee.

Q: How is the scientific program developed?

A:

  1. A general topic for the Congress is chosen at an in-person meeting of the CSPC at the current MDS Congress and general ideas for the next Congress(es) are discussed (for example, introduction of the "VO Games").
     
  2. The CSPC carefully performs an environmental scan which includes reviewing multiple sources of needs assessment data and outcomes analysis data. This includes a review of the session evaluation summary data from the previous congress and data collected from other sources such as the MDS educational needs assessment survey.
     
  3. Over the course of several months, the CSPC assembles a draft of the scientific program. The CSPC ensures that there are a variety of learning modalities that allow participants to maintain, develop, or increase their knowledge, skills and professional performance and relationships that they use to provide services for patients, the public or the profession. Therefore, the congress consists of plenary sessions, parallel sessions, teaching courses, video sessions, skills workshops, and controversy debates. For this, suggestions from members of the MDS are taken into account. About 50% of the program is dedicated to various aspects of parkinsonism, whereas the remaining 50% addresses other movement disorders.

    As the congress moves from global region to region, there is generally only a 30% overlap in audiences from successive congresses. Therefore, it is important that specific content be carried through two or three congresses, whereas other content is replaced and changed every year.
     
  4. Working groups (e.g. clinical trials, genetics, education) prepare suggestions that are then discussed at regular conference calls with all members of the CSPC. About two months prior to an in-person meeting (in the late summer) of all available CSPC members, there are weekly conference calls to complete the program draft.
     
  5. At the in-person meeting of the CSPC, the program is finalized. As the CSPC develops and vets the content for congress, content is validated for its scientific integrity and reviewed to ensure lack of commercial bias. After this process the speakers are then selected.


Committee Members

Roger Barker
Daniela Berg
Erwan Bezard
Kailash Bhatia
Bastiaan Bloem
Francisco Cardoso
Giovanni Fabbrini
Joaquim Ferreira
Susan Fox
Glenda Halliday

Paul Krack
Irene Litvan
Timothy Lynch
Pablo Martinez-Martin
Marcelo Merello
Per Odin
Klaus Seppi
Philip Starr
Anthony Strafella
D. James Surmeier
Louis Tan

Ad Hoc Members
Guenther Deuschl
Oscar Gershanik
Anthony Lang
Margarita Makoutonina
Jose Obeso
Robert Rodnitzky
Matthew Stern
Ryosuke Takahashi
Philip Thompson