2nd EULIS Meeting in Copenhagen ushers in new Chairman

At the end of last week’s EULIS Section Meeting in Copenhagen, Prof. Palle Osther stepped down after four years as the EAU Urolithiasis Section’s chairman. EULIS held two well-attended section meetings under Prof. Osther’s chairmanship, and the section made big strides in establishing the section as an authority on urinary stones with a global reach.

The former Vice-Chair of the section, Prof. Kemal Sarica of the Dr. Lutfi Kirdar Training and Research Hospital in Istanbul took over as EULIS Chairman. Speaking on the occasion, Sarica stated: “It’s a pleasure and honour to take over from Palle. The past 15 years I worked very hard together with the other board members, and now I’m happy that it’s my chance to be the chair. It’s a pleasure, but the main thing is to share. If you know how to share, you will be successful and have no difficulty.”

Palle Osther announced that after four years, it was time for “new blood” to take over and expressed his confidence in his successor. Prof. Osther will continue to be involved in EULIS’s projects and meetings. Prof. Thomas Knoll from Sindelfingen is taking over as Vice-Chair.

Sarica sees the role of EULIS as follows: “I’ve been in this group for 15 years, and we created EULIS together. We are a section devoted to the treatment of stone disease. EULIS deals with all aspects of this issue: pathophysiology, diagnosis, medical management as well as surgical management. As an EAU Section it’s our mission to put stone disease on the agendas of urologists, nephrologists, and basic scientists. We do this by organising workshops and meetings, and by taking part in educational programmes.”

“As a chairman, I have to coordinate our section and 10-man board. It’s a family, and we discuss and negotiate what to do. We also have associate members, and we have to benefit from their experience. I hope to follow in Palle’s footsteps. He did very well and I learned a lot from him.”

Some innovations Prof. Sarica is looking to bring to the section is a different approach to the familiar meetings. “I’m looking forward to introducing some new courses and workshops, and to make it very convenient for people to take part. We also have to be involved with national societies and raise awareness of the EULIS name.”

EULIS’s next section meeting is set to take place in Alicante, Spain in 2015. Next year, the section is also hoping to present its first post-graduate educational course for the practicing urologist. “If we can manage to establish this, it will be a EULIS-branded standardised programme, to be organised in a different country each year. This will bring urologists together, and cover all aspects of urolithiasis to every interested post-graduate.”