After four days, 19 lecture streams, hundreds of speakers and 5000 delegates passing through the doors of Birmingham’s International Convention Centre, IBMS Congress 2023 came to a close.
The Closing Plenary was delivered by Professor Lucy Easthope of the University of Lincoln and was entitled “Disaster victim identification: A scientific, social and humanitarian responsibility”.
It was an engaging and moving talk that addressed disaster victim identity and looked at the vital importance of duty of care.
Introducing the final session, Debra Padgett, IBMS President, said: “I’m sure you will all agree, it has been an amazing four days. It’s been a pleasure for me to meet so many of you and I’m sure that some of the feedback will help us ensure that we make Congress 2025 even better and bigger than this one.”
The theme for this year’s event was “Linking learning to the laboratory” and it was the biggest IBMS Congress to date, with more than 20 key specialisms and areas of professional interest represented.
Speakers ranged from esteemed leaders in their fields, parliamentarians and chief scientists through to younger members of the profession driving their specialism forward with passion and innovation.
Alongside the talks there was a packed evening social programme for members to attend, which was perfect for networking and making new contacts.
There were also three days of poster presentations, and the Congress Hall was packed with companies and organisations showcasing the latest cutting-edge advances and technologies.
Speaking to the Biomedical Scientist magazine as the event came to a close, Debra said: “Congress is always the highlight of the biomedical science calendar. It makes me so proud to see many smiling faces and people who are proud to be biomedical scientists.
“It is great having everybody back together again – it’s the thing that gives us our mojo back.
“This year was the best Congress ever and an amazing opportunity to hear what’s going on in the profession and look at the latest technological advances too.”
Image credit | Pro Vision Photography Ltd