Adv Dent Res 18:26, November, 2005
© 2005 International and American Associations for Dental Research
Introduction
A summary of presentations from the 8th European Oral Microbiology Workshop, Halkidiki, Greece, May 12–15, 2005
Michael Curtis
Centre for Infectious Disease, Institute of Cell and Molecular Science, Queen Mary, University of London, Newark Street, London, E1 2AT, UK; m.a.curtis{at}qmul.ac.uk
European Oral Microbiology Workshops have now become an established part of the research meetings calendar since the first meeting in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, in 1984. Every three years since then, research workers and students in oral microbiology from across Europe have come together to spend several days in a relaxed environment to share new data, discuss progress in specified fields, and highlight areas of controversy.
The 8th European Oral Microbiology Workshop was held in Halkidiki in Greece, May 12th–15th, 2005. As with previous workshops, the format of the meeting was informal and specifically designed to foster discussion among the participants and to encourage the involvement of junior investigators. The meeting was divided into a series of themed sessions, chaired by a senior investigator in the field whose task was to introduce the session by means of a general overview and then co-ordinate a series of short presentations of recent data from the audience. In this way, each topic was thoroughly discussed, and new findings were brought to the attention of the whole group. The aim of this paper, authored by Drs. Robert Allaker and David Dymock of the Oral Microbiology and Immunology Group of the British Society for Dental Research, is to summarize those discussions for those not fortunate enough to have enjoyed the stimulation of the meeting first-hand.
The astonishing advances in electronic communication since the first of these workshops over 20 years ago have revolutionized how we keep abreast of new findings, new ideas, and emerging paradigms in research. E-mail, online access to journals and databases, electronic notice boards, Internet chat rooms, and a host of other "e-aids" all facilitate and add pace to the process of research. However, they do not replace the enriching experience that comes from protected time with colleagues from different countries and cultures, with shared research interests and aspirations. This applies equally to the most seasoned and gnarled research worker in the final year of a research career and to the new first-year graduate student. The organizers of the 8th workshop—in particular, Dr. Sotos Kalfas of the University of Thessaloniki—should be congratulated and thanked for maintaining the traditions of these workshops, and we all look forward to repeating the experience in Finland in 2008.
—Mike Curtis
22-09-05
