NewcastleGateshead sees a boom in medical conferences in 2018

27 June 2018

As a city with a proud history in medical sciences and a top medical school at Newcastle University that’s ranked amongst the top 100 life science universities in the world, it’s no surprise that NewcastleGateshead has a strong track record for hosting medical conferences. 2018 has seen a boom in high-profile conferences in this field, with September alone seeing four major medical conferences heading to the destination and over 3,800 delegates visiting the city for medical events across the year.

Following the success of major events including the Royal College of Nursing’s Education Forum National Conference and Exhibition and the British Society for Dermatological Surgery’s 35th Annual Surgery Workshop in March 2018, which together saw over 550 delegates visit the city, the momentum is set to continue with an influx of medical conferences throughout the rest of the year.

July will see the Association for the Study of Medical Education host its Annual Scientific Meeting at the iconic Sage Gateshead, with over 600 national and international medical professional delegates descending on NewcastleGateshead for the event.

September is set to be the busiest month for medical conferences, which will see over 1,500 delegates arriving in the city. The European Thyroid Association, the Association for the Study of Obesity and NuGO (an association of universities and research institutes focusing on the research areas of molecular nutrition, personalised nutrition, nutrigenomics and nutritional systems biology) will hold significant events at venues across NewcastleGateshead. The European Network of Teratology Information Service and the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists will also host their annual joint meeting at Newcastle University in September.

Rounding up the year’s medical events, the 17th Anaesthesia, Pain and Critical Care Update and the Multiple System Atrophy Trust’s Health and Care Professionals Study Day both take place in October, while the Federation of Infection Sciences Annual Conference takes place in November.

Paul Szomoru, Director of Business Events at NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau, said: “Here in NewcastleGateshead, we’re lucky to be home to many world-leading academics and researchers in various fields of medical sciences, whose dedication and hard work has life-changing impacts all around the world. We’re one of six designated UK Science Cities and are home to cutting-edge facilities including the UK’s first biotechnology village, International Centre for Life, and the Newcastle University Institute for Ageing (NUIA), the largest facility of its kind in Europe.

“Amazing innovations are happening here – for example Newcastle University was recently granted the first licence to create a baby with three genetic parents, which will be used to prevent children dying from genetic diseases – making NewcastleGateshead a natural fit for medical conferences where speakers and delegates are at the absolute forefront of their fields.”

“There are many important medical conferences that have chosen NewcastleGateshead as the place to bring their events this year. We are excited and looking forward to welcoming all the delegates here, and I know these national and international audiences will be impressed when they see the significant work that’s happening here.”

Professor John Mathers, Chair of NuGo Week 2018 and Professor of Human Nutrition at Newcastle University, said: “Here at Newcastle University, our Human Nutrition Research Centre is undertaking ground-breaking research in areas of high public health significance, including obesity and ageing. Our research includes understanding the interactions between mitochondria, nutrition and health – the theme of this year’s NuGO Week 2018. By bringing the conference to our home city, we can showcase the advances that we are making here and build and strengthen links with colleagues from around the world.”

As well as its strengths in life sciences and healthcare, NewcastleGateshead offers event organisers a vibrant destination in which to host conferences, with a wide range of venues on offer, over 7,500 city centre bedrooms, an exciting restaurant scene and nightlife, excellent accessibility, plus a famously warm welcome.

Mairi Macleod, Events Officer at the Association for the Study of Medical Education, said of the decision to choose the destination for its event: “NewcastleGateshead is the perfect destination to host the Annual Scientific Meeting – it’s easy to reach for commuters from the North and South of the UK, plus the event is known for its social and networking vibe, which combined with the energy and warmth of the people of Newcastle will make for a fantastic all-round experience for anyone attending the event.”