Today, Friday 13th March, is the deadline for nominations and expressions of interest in the positions for the Governing Board of the British Liver Transplant Group.

Elections, where required, will be completed by Friday 10th April 2015.

Those elected to the BLTG Governing Board will be required to hold association membership at the start of their term if it is not already in place.

Please send nominations and expressions of interest via email to paula@execbs.com before the closing date above.

> For the list of available positions, please click here.

The 'Your Liver' Campaign is launched today by Media Planet.

The online campaign site www.yourliver.co.uk  will be accompanied by a multipage supplement distributed nationally within The Independent newspaper tomorrow and available digitally at the EASL International Liver Congress.

The campaign has been put together with expert content and guidance from British Liver Trust, the Foundation for Liver Research and BASL plus many others.

> Visit the website here

Thank you to the BASL members that were involved in providing content for the key editorial areas of Liver Cancer; Hepatitis;   Cirrhosis; Non-alcohol related fatty disease; Nutrition and general liver health.

With only 1 week remaining to the early bird registration deadline of 20 March 2015, make sure you take advantage of booking discounts of up to 22% to join DDF 2015 - the UK's premier and largest gastroenterology event.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO REGISTER AS A BASL MEMBER
The profits from the meeting are distributed on a pro-rata basis to each society based on the number of their members attending.  This is important.

You will be asked for your BASL membership number, to find this, please login in to your profile on the ‘Manage Accounts’ page on the BASL website. Or call our office on 01543 442154 if you are having any difficulties.

>Register Here

The Trainees Sections of BSG and BASL are very pleased to offer 10 bursaries for trainees to attend the Digestive Disorders Federation Meeting, to be held on 22nd – 25th June 2015 in London. Supported by Norgine Pharmaceuticals, the bursary is available to trainee members of the BSG and BASL. Applicants must hold a specialty registrar training number in gastroenterology or be in a LAT post.

Application deadline 30th March 2015

> Click here for further information and application documents

The next BVHG meeting will take place 5th June in Manchester.  Abstract submissions are invited.  The meeting is free to attend for ALL.

Event: HCV Research Consortia: A 10,000 UK patient cohort delivering translational research
Venue: Manchester Town Hall

The aims of the Showcase Event are, amongst others, to celebrate the achievement of a UK national cohort of 10,000 patients with HCV infection and to report on the effect of HCV Research UK in supporting basic, translational and clinical research.

ABSTRACTS
As part of the programme, we are inviting abstract submissions relating to HCV Research.  The top three submissions will be selected for presentation at the meeting.  Travel expenses will be covered.

Abstract submissions should be 400 words approximately including introduction, aim, method, results, and conclusion.  The deadline for submissions is Friday 17th April 2015.

Registration Fee
ALL delegates - Free (a £50 refundable deposit applies)

Further information & booking
>Go to the event page for further information and to book online.

Please forward details to your colleagues who may be interested in attending.

We are pleased to announce a Showcase Workshop to introduce new technological solutions to improve clinical care and patient quality of life in advanced liver disease.

The d-LIVER project, funded by the European Commission FP7 programme, is a consortium of 13 partners across Europe which has developed home monitoring systems for remote patient management and a bio-artificial liver support device.

The home monitoring system will support patients with advanced liver disease using regular patient-led measurements of physiological parameters (including heart rate and blood pressure) and six blood biochemistry tests. An ICT-enabled system allows semi-automated optimisation of therapy with support from specialist clinicians, where required. It is envisaged that this system will allow the earlier detection of decompensation leading to improved clinical outcomes, improved patient quality of life and reduced costs of management.

The bio-artificial liver technology includes identification of a reliable and cost effective source of functional hepatocytes, derived from readily expandable progenitors, to carry out detoxification and other hepatic functions in an acute setting. A three-dimensional bioreactor will provide an environment in which these cells can be supported and monitored during the perfusion of serum from patients undergoing support.
The Workshop is designed to showcase the developed technologies and to learn how these new technologies might fit in to current and future clinical practice. The Workshop will take place on May 27th 2015 at the Humanitas Research Hospital Congress Centre in Milan (Via Manzoni 113,  20089 Rozzano, Milan, Italy - www.humanitasedu.it/sedi/milano).

Participation is free of charge but registration is required.
To register please contact us at info@d-liver.eu

For more information about d-LIVER see http://www.d-liver.eu or contact us at info@d-liver.euD-Liver

The organizing committee would like to invite you to join them for the 3rd edition of the OPTIMIZE Workshop, Using DAAs in Patients with Cirrhosis and Liver Recipients in Vienna, Austria on 21 April 2015. The state-of-the-art program features key opinion leaders! The program consists of lectures, clinical case presentations and panel discussions.

> Click here for the workshop flyer

> Click here for the event website

It is with great pride that in February the BASLNF became 10 years old. During its 10 years, BASL Nurse Forum has evolved in to a thriving group that represents and supports nurses caring for liver patients. It has successfully increased membership year on year and has put on annual conferences that have provided high quality educational opportunities. One of the biggest achievements for BASLNF has been the implementation and on-going development of the eToolkits, which are unique to Hepatology nursing.

BASLNF is looking forward to the future and remains committed to the support and development of all nurses who may see liver patients in their day to day practice. It is crucial we keep liver nursing on the national nursing agenda for the sake of our patients. If you have any ideas for BASLNF then please get in touch.

For further information, please contact BASLNF Chair, Fiona Fry f.fry@nhs.net

The public registration facility to observe the committee meeting for Ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir with or without dasabuvir for treating chronic hepatitis C [ID731] is now open on the NICE website. 

If you would like to register for this committee meeting, please do so via the following web page: https://www.nice.org.uk/event/tacd_april_2015    

Registration for this meeting will close on 18 March 2015 at 5pm.
Please note we may be unable to accept late requests to observe this meeting.

As a public observer, you will be able to listen to the business of the meeting, except where confidential information is being discussed, however, you will not be able to:

• participate in committee discussions
• ask questions, take part in voting or put your views to members of the committee

Should you have any queries regarding observing this meeting, please contact the Meetings in Public Coordinator, Lee Berry Lee.berry@nice.org.uk.

NICE guideline on CG100 Alcohol-use disorders: Diagnosis and clinical management of alcohol-related physical complications

After considering the evidence and consulting with experts, NICE have provisionally decided not to update this guideline. They would like to hear your views on the decision.

> To comment, please see the consultation page on the NICE website.

The consultation will close at 5.00 pm on Friday 20 March 2015.

If you have any queries about the update decision, please contact pamela.doran@nice.org.uk

Post Ref 49682 on University of Birmingham jobs site

University of Birmingham are seeking one (possibly two) highly motivated Clinical Research Fellows to undertake translational research studies in patients with chronic liver disease. The position will be based in the internationally regarded Liver Unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the NIHR funded Liver Biomedical Research Unit in the JIF-funded Institute of Biomedical Research.

University of Birmingham is looking for a clinician with MRCP or equivalent, a potential ability to conduct and publish their own research, strong communication skills and an ability and eagerness to work in a multi-disciplinary team. You will recruit patients and co-ordinate clinical trials in cell therapy, liver cancer or autoimmune liver disease with the assistance of the Liver Clinical Trials team.
You will have an enthusiasm to learn and will be encouraged to register for a higher degree. You will work closely with all members of the project team in advancing  our research programmes in liver disease. 

The position is available for 12 months with potential and expectation to extend for a higher degree and submission of a fellowship application to the MRC / Wellcome Trust or other funding bodies. Salary will be at the appropriate point on the appropriate clinical scale, with placement according to qualifications and experience.

Contact  Professor Philip Newsome p.n.newsome@bham.ac.uk  or Dr Gideon Hirschfield g.hirschfield@bham.ac.uk for informal enquiries.

Closing date 17th March 2015.

Fast Facts: Liver Disorders is £15/€18/$25 and is available in print and electronic formats from www.fastfacts.com (buy 3 get 1 free).

Discount Code - ‘BASL20’

Book details:
Fast Facts: Liver Disorders is designed to help primary care providers, hospital doctors and specialist nurses understand the most important issues as quickly as possible, including the indicators of severe disease in order to identify patients who need specialist referral.