ESPR Sections

As a part of the ESPR Council, the sections represent different Paediatric sub-specialties.

Headed by dedicated and elected section secretaries, it is the sections' role:

• to provide speakers/topics for ESPR conferences;
• to publish research and guidelines related to their expertise;
• to act as a discussion forum and incubator of ideas/initiatives for like-minded Paediatric professionals;
• to organise annual gatherings at the ESRP congresses;
• to mentor young investigators.

The ESPR sections are open to all members from the society with a relevant specialisation.

• Meet the ESPR Section Secretaries & EBN Board

  Brain, Development & Imaging Deirdre Murray, MD, PhD University College Cork Ireland	Circulation, Haematology & Oxygen Transport Eirik Nestaas, MD, PhD University of Oslo Norway	Epidemiology Jennifer Zeitlin, MA, D.Sc. French National Institute of Health and Medical Research France	Infection, Inflammation & Immunology Eleanor Molloy, PhD Trinity College Dublin Ireland
  Neonatal Resuscitation Arjan te Pas, MD, PhD Leiden University Medical Center Netherlands	Nursing & other Healthcare Professionals Agnes van den Hoogen, PhD University Medical Center Utrecht Netherlands	Nutrition, Metabolism & Gastroenterology Miguel Saenz de Pipaon, MD, PhD Hospital Universitario La Paz Spain	Paediatric & Neonatal Pharmacology Sinno Simons, MD, PhD Erasmus MC Netherlands
  Pulmonology Anton van Kaam, MD, PhD Emma Children's Hospital Netherlands	European Board of Neonatology Maximo Vento, MD, PhD Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe Spain	European Board of Neonatology Olivier Danhaive, MD Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc Belgium	European Board of Neonatology Tomasz Szczapa, MD, PhD Poznan University of Medical Sciences Poland

Currently, the ESPR has ten sections and the European Board of Neonatology (EBN). Four of these — Young Investigator; Nursing and other Healthcare Professionals; Infection, Inflammation, Immunology and Immunization; and Neonatal Resuscitation — were inaugurated over the past four years.

• Brain, Development and Imaging

  Section Aim
  The aim of the section is to promote research in the fields of brain development, both normal and abnormal. The study of early brain injury, and the prediction and detection of abnormal developmental trajectories, and the assessment of long term neurodevelopmental outcome. The section also has a strong focus on the study of neuroprotective therapies and strategies to improve outcome for all newborns. This is achieved facilitating the active exchange of ideas, hypotheses and new research findings; building collaborations and supporting the dissemination of pre-clinical research and the development of multicentre clinical trials within the ESPR and throughout Europe. In 2019 it was decided to expand the section to include imaging in recognition of the important role played by imaging research in the study of brain injury and brain development.

  Section Council
  The section council consists of a section secretary, 7 section council members and 2 young council members. The role of the section council members is to support the section secretary in developing and promoting issues relevant to brain and development. The position of young council member is designed to encourage young investigators to take a more active role in the ESPR. In addition to the section council, membership of the Brain & Development section is open for any professional with an interest in the study of the newborn brain, brain development, brain imaging and outcome who is an active, emeritus, affiliate or associate member of the ESPR.

  Section Council Members

  • Deirdre Murray, 1st term, Section Secretary, September 2019 – September 2022
  • Bobbi Fleiss, Council Member
  • Kasper Kyng, Council Member
  • Jeroen Dudink, Council Member
  • Ana Alarcon Allen, Council Member
  • Ivo Bendix, Council Member
  • Juliane Schneider, Council Member
  • Giancarlo Natalucci, Council Member
  • Olga Romantsik, Young Council Member
  • Ted Andelius, Young Council Member

   

  Ongoing & Future Projects
  At jENS meeting 2019, it was voted by all present members to change the name of the section into 'Brain, development, and imaging'. The ultrasound training course run by Paul Govaert, Sandra Horsch and colleagues will therefore be part of the section activity in the future. A special issue on brain ultrasound entitled 'State-of-the-art neonatal cerebral ultrasound: technique and reporting' was recently published in Pediatric Research.
• Circulation, Haematology and Oxygen Transport

  Section Aim
  The aim of the section is to promote research and to provide best-evidence guidelines or recommendations in the fields of circulation, oxygen transport and haematology. This is achieved by encouraging exchange of ideas and discussions amongst researchers and experts in the field, through organisation of parallel sessions, workshops and courses during annual ESPR conferences (EAPS & jENS), as well as by bringing individuals together in special interest groups and a virtual research community.

  Section Council
  The section consists of a Section Secretary, who sits on the ESPR Council, two Section Council Members and two Young Council Members. The role of the Section Council Members is to support the Section Secretary in developing and promoting issues relevant to circulation, oxygen transport and haematology. The position of Young Council Member is designed to encourage young investigators to take a more active role in the ESPR.

  Section Council Members

  • Eirik Nestaas, 1st term, Section Secretary, January 2022 - September 2025
  • Mathias Lühr Hansen, 1st term, Council Member, January 2022 - September 2025
  • Bernhard Schwaberger, 1st term, Council Member, January 2022 - September 2025
  • Mayka Bravo, 2nd term, Young Council Member, September 2019 - September 2022

  • Colm Breatnach, 2nd term, Young Council Member, September 2019 - September 2022

  Special Interest Groups
  Currently, there are three special interest groups within the section. These are:

  1. Neonatologist Performed Echocardiography (NPE)
     The NPE group was set up in 2014 with the goal of promoting the responsible use of echocardiography by neonatologists to enhance clinical care of newborn infants by formulating 'state-of-the art' guidelines. Currently, the NPE group consists of >40 members originating from >15 countries worldwide with specific expertise in NPE. In 2016, a consensus statement was published by this group with recommendations for NPE training and accreditation in Europe (see link here). Subsequently, the group developed comprehensive technical and clinical reviews encompassing many aspects of the use of NPE in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). These review papers are presented together in a dedicated online, open-access supplement to Pediatric Research (see link here). The next objective of the NPE group is to implement a pan-European governance structure with the responsibility to develop a certification and accreditation programme and set standards for competency and excellence in NPE under the umbrella of the European Board of Neonatology (EBN) within the ESPR. Moreover, NPE will be incorporated into the next, revised version of the European Curriculum and Assessment Framework for Subspecialty Training in Neonatology. The overall aim of this endeavour is to ensure the safe application of echocardiography in the clinical setting to enhance hemodynamic assessment, improve our management strategies, and foster collaborative research.
     
     
  2. Near InfraRed Spectroscopy (NIRS)
     The NIRS group was initiated in 2017 during the 2nd jENS meeting in Venice. The aim of this dedicated group of experts is to produce state-of-the-art methodological and clinical guidelines/recommendations regarding the use of NIRS in neonatal care. Our goal is to publish a series of papers that will interest both researchers and clinicians.
     
     
  3. Non-invasive Cardiac Output Monitoring
     During the section's business meeting in Paris in 2018, a third special interest group working on the analysis of the validity, applicability and feasibility of several techniques of cardiac output monitoring in newborn infants was established.

  
  Ongoing & Future Projects

  • Implementation of a pan-European governance structure with the responsibility to develop a certification and accreditation programme and set standards for competency and excellence in NPE.
  • Development of an interactive platform via the ESPR website and mobile app (for ESPR members).
  • Collaboration with the new ESPR section 'Infection, Inflammation & Immunology' regarding the Surviving Sepsis Campaign with emphasis on the preterm infant.
• Epidemiology

  Section Aim
  The aims of this section are to promote clinical and population-based research including observational studies and randomised controlled trials. This research is needed for the evaluation of curative and preventive interventions, predicting disease, understanding the aetiology and risk factors of disease, including early exposures, and assessing the long-term consequences of perinatal and paediatric events. These aims are achieved by encouraging the exchange of knowledge about innovative and up-to-date epidemiological and statistical methods and their application in research amongst researchers both formally, through the organisation of sessions, workshops and courses during the ESPR conferences as well as informally by bringing together individuals in a virtual research community.

  Section Council
  The council of the section consists of a section secretary, 3 section council members and 1 young council member. The role of the section council members is to support the section secretary in developing and promoting issues relevant to epidemiology. The position of young council member is designed to encourage young investigators to take a more active role in the ESPR. In addition to the section council, membership of the Epidemiology section is open for any professional with an interest in epidemiology and research methods who is an active, emeritus, affiliate or associate member of the ESPR.

  Section Council Members

  • Jennifer Zeitlin, 1st term, Section Secretary, September 2019 - September 2022, Obstetrical, Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology Research Team, Inserm, Paris, France
  • Anne-Cathrine Viuff, Senior Staff Specialist, PhD, Department of Childhood and Adolescent Medicine, Hospitalsenhed Midt, Viborg Denmark
  • Jasper Been, Consultant Neonatologist & Associate Professor, Erasmus MC – Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
  • Chris Gale, Reader in Neonatal Medicine, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, UK
  • Thomas Williams, young council member, Wellcome Trust ECAT Clinical Lecturer, University of Edinburgh, UK

   

  Ongoing & Future Projects
  The section is working on developing programmes for pre-conference courses for future ESPR conferences on a range of topics, including using routine register data for research in neonatology and paediatrics and synthesizing, interpreting and presenting research results. We aim to reach out to the ESPR membership to identify themes of greatest interest related to epidemiological methods.
• Infection, Inflammation, Immunology and Immunization (I4) Section
  Section Aim:

  The aim of the section is to promote research and its translation into patient care regarding the different aspects of the immune system and to offer a platform for professionals interested in this area. This includes topics such as pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment and long-term effects of sepsis with or without multi-organ involvement as well as theoretical and practical aspects of immunization. Beyond organizing multicentre trials within Europe and within the ESPR, the section also aims to provide best evidence or consensus on related topics such as definition of neonatal sepsis including organ failure or outcome measures. The section will also engage in education and training especially for young scientists. We encourage multidisciplinary collaborations with other sections within the ESPR, and with international colleagues and societies.
  This is achieved by exchange of ideas, discussions and collaborations among researchers and experts in the field, by organizing parallel sessions, workshops and courses during the annual ESPR conference (EAPS & jENS) as well as by setting up collaborative writing groups and generating new ideas for clinical trials through our 2-monthly online-meeting to which everybody interested is welcome.

   

  Section Council Members:
  • Eleanor Molloy, 1st term, Section Secretary, October 2018 - October 2021
  • Irwin Reiss, 1st term, Council Member, October 2018 - October 2021
  • Eric Giannoni, 1st term, Council Member, October 2018 - October 2021
  • Jan Mazela, 1st term, Council Member, October 2018 - October 2021
  • Fleur Keij, Young Council Member, October 2018 - October 2021
  • Matt McGovern, Young Council Member, October 2018 - October 2021

   

  Section Council:

  The section council consists of a Section Secretary, three Section Council Members and two Young Council Members. The role of the Section Council Members is to support the Section Secretary in developing and promoting issues relevant to Infection, Inflammation, Immunology and Immunization. The position of Young Council Member is designed to encourage young investigators to take a more active role in the ESPR. I4-section membership is open for any professional with an interest in Infection, Inflammation, Immunology and Immunization who is an active, emeritus, affiliate or associate member of the ESPR.

   

  Ongoing and future projects:

  • Neonatal Sepsis definition: editorial and 2 publications
  • Covid-19 and Neonates: state of the art review
  • Special edition Pediatric Research: neonatal sepsis series
  • Collaboration with the ESPR section 'Circulation' regarding the Surviving Sepsis Campaign
• Neonatal Resuscitation

  Section Aim:
  The purpose of the section is to improve and distribute knowledge on pulmonary and hemodynamic changes during postnatal transition. Furthermore, the section aims to promote collaborations and initiate multi-centre studies on perinatal transition and neonatal resuscitation and provide evidence-based medicine in this field.

  Section Council:
  The section council consists of a section secretary, six section council members and three young council members. The role of the section council members is to support the section secretary in developing and promoting issues relevant to perinatal transition and neonatal resuscitation. The position of young council member is designed to encourage young investigators to take a more active role in the ESPR. In addition to the section council, membership of the Neonatal Resuscitation section is open for any professional with an interest in perinatal transition and neonatal resuscitation who is an active, emeritus, affiliate or associate member of the ESPR.

  Section Council Members:

  • Arjan te Pas, 1st term, Section Secretary, September 2019 – September 2022
  • Mario Rüdiger, 1st term, Council Member, September 2019 – September 2022
  • Elizabeth Foglia, 1st term, Council Member, September 2019 – September 2022
  • Gianluca Lista, 1st term, Council Member, September 2019 – September 2022
  • Francesco Cavigioli, 1st term, Council Member, September 2019 – September 2022
  • Berndt Urlesberger, 1st term, Council Member, September 2019 – September 2022
  • Ronny Knol, Neonatologist, 1st term, Council Member, September 2019 – September 2022
  • Janneke Dekker, 1st term, Young Council Member, September 2019 - September 2022
  • Jeroen J van Vonderen, 1st term, Young Council Member, September 2019 - September 2022
  • Marieke den Boer, 1st term, Young Council Member, September 2019 - September 2022
• Nursing and other Healthcare Professionals

  Objectives:

  • providing education, developing guidelines and preparing position statements
  • offering high-quality contributions to conferences and meetings
  • supporting and coordinating research of society members in all fields of nursing and other health care professionals
  • working in a multi-disciplinary manner together with the other ESPR sections

  
  Way of working:
  This is achieved by encouraging exchange of ideas and discussions among members in research and education platforms in Europe and the ESPR.

  The section Nursing and other Healthcare Professionals has its own business meeting, which is held during the annual ESPR meeting.

  Decisions at the annual business meetings are made by simple majority of the members present.

  At the annual business meeting research projects and proposals for future congresses are discussed and worked on.

  Achievements for future research:

  • Family-centered care and family empowerment
  • Developmental care
  • Sleep and brain development
  • Pain & sedation
  • Safety and risk reduction in NICU
  • Surroundings & stress
  • Neonatal transport

  
  Section Secretary:
  Agnes van den Hoogen, PhD
  1st term
  October 2018 - October 2021
• Nutrition, Metabolism and Gastroenterology

  Miguel Saenz de Pipaon, MD, PhD
  1st term
  September 2019 - September 2022

  This page is currently being updated.
• Paediatric and Neonatal Pharmacology

  The Pharmacology section is a young and growing section that aims to study, educate and collaborate within Europe. We aim to increase the awareness about the relevance of neonatal and pediatric pharmacology among scientists and researchers. Improved knowledge and understanding of drugs, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, drug development, and new therapies to protect our patients, will all contribute to improved patient care and outcome.

  We aim to:

  • Increase the knowledge about neonatal and pediatric pharmacology in Europe by:
    - Sharing research and knowledge;
    - Writing educational papers;
    - Organizing education and courses to teach others.
  • Collaborate with all the other section, because pharmacology is part of the topics that are covered by the other sections (such as circulation, sepsis, lung and neurology) within ESPR.
  • Improve and enlarge the network of (clinician) scientists in the field of pharmacology and beyond.
  • Encourage and support young researchers.

  
  Section board members:

  • Sinno Simons (Section Secretary)
    2nd term, September 2019 - September 2022
  • Eugene Dempsey (Senior)
  • Anne Smits (Senior)
  • Liam Mahoney (Junior)
  • Harris Kotidis (Junior)
• Pulmonology

  Section Aim
  The aim of the section is to promote international collaboration in research, teaching and evidence-based guidelines or recommendations in the field of neonatal pulmonology. This is achieved by encouraging exchange of ideas and discussions amongst researchers and experts in the field and by organising workshops, courses and pulmonary sessions during annual ESPR conferences (EAPS & jENS).

  Section Council
  The section council consists of a Section Secretary, who sits on the ESPR Council, two Section Council Members and two Young Council Members. Together the section council tries to facilitate, stimulate and promote activities within the section to achieve the section aims. In addition to the section council, membership of the pulmonary section is open for any professional with an interest in neonatal pulmonology who is an active, emeritus, affiliate or associate member of the ESPR.

  Section Council Members
  

  • Anton van Kaam, 2nd term, Section Secretary, October 2020 - October 2023
  • Olivier Danhaive, 2nd term, Council Member, October 2020 - October 2023
  • Anna Lavizzari, 2nd term, Council Member, September 2019 - September 2022
  • Richard Sindelar, 1st term, Council Member, October 2020 - October 2023
  • Theodore Dassios, 1st term, Council Member, October 2020 - October 2023
    
    

  Ongoing & Future Projects

  • State-of-the-art review papers on neonatal pulmonology topics for Pediatric Research
  • Setting up a European network with national investigators and design international cohort studies in the field of neonatal pulmonology
• Early Career Investigators

  More info on the newly established ESPR Young Investigator Section coming soon!
• European Board of Neonatology (EBN)

  Maximo Vento, MD, PhD
  Chairperson
  2nd term
  October 2020 – October 2023

  Olivier Danhaive, MD
  Policy and Neonatal Databases Officer
  1st term
  October 2020 – October 2023

  Tomasz Szczapa, MD, PhD
  Education and Training Officer
  2nd term
  October 2020 – October 2023

  About the EBN
  As the ESPR's educational arm, the EBN offers hands-on courses to underpin key areas of practice within the European Curriculum and Syllabus for Training in Neonatology. These courses are organised by leading experts in their respective fields in three-year teaching cycles. Each cycle consists of six modules. For more information on the EBN, please visit www.ebn-education.eu.

Should you wish to join a section or contact one of the section secretaries, please send an email to office@espr.eu. The ESPR Secretariat will be happy to forward your request.