Pancreatobiliary Pathology Society (PBPS) Members,
We will all remember 2020 as a year filled with challenges and new ways of doing things, and many of our modified processes are spilling into 2021 as well. With the upcoming USCAP meeting being virtual, we have been working to prepare a compelling agenda for our PBPS Companion Meeting, and I am pleased to report that we have a very fine program devoted to the topic of pancreatitis. Our speakers will include Dr. Barbara Centeno (Cytopathology of inflammatory lesions of the pancreatobiliary tree), Dr. Vikram Deshpande (IgG4-related (autoimmune) pancreatitis), Dr. Günter Klöppel (Acute/alcoholic pancreatitis) and Dr. Giuseppe Zamboni (Paraduodenal pancreatitis). The lectures will be prerecorded, so you can listen to them any time after they go live on March 1. Because of the modified format, the session will only be 90 minutes this year. Please access the talks via the USCAP website. There will be a 30 minute live question and answer session, hosted by Michelle Reid, PBPS Education Committee Chair, on Tuesday, March 16 at 2:00 PM Eastern time. You can enter your questions on-line as well, and Michelle will review them with the speakers. We hope this will be a highly interactive Q&A session, and that the virtual format will allow even more participants to hear these lectures.
I also want to remind everyone about the PBPS Abstract Award competition. Our PBPS Education Committee will select the winning abstract for 2021, and the first author will receive a $500 prize. All applications should be submitted no later than 2/15/2021. Please see the PBPS website for details.
In other news, we have recently revamped our Journal Watch feature, kindly edited by Daniela Allende, PBPS Chair of Journal Watch Subcommittee – please keep an eye on our website for updates about excellent publications related to pancreatobiliary pathology.
We truly regret that we cannot gather in person this year – one of the hardest things about the pandemic of course is the restriction on seeing family, friends, and colleagues – but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and we will look forward to future meetings when we can gather again to share our interests and catch up on our professional lives!
David Klimstra, Pancreatobiliary Pathology Society President