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Back to Basic Science
The 35th EACTS Annual Meeting in Barcelona marked the new approach of integrating basic science into clinical presentations. Juan Grau, the Chair of the Basic Science Task Force, part of the Acquired Cardiac Disease Domain, discusses the ambitious goals of the taskforce and outlines why the new approach to basic science is important.
“From my point of view, the integration of basic science into the clinical presentations at the Annual Meeting went very well. Of course, I could not attend every session, but the addition of the basic science made those I could attend very enjoyable.
“Giving the scientific background, the numbers and data in a presentation puts the work in perspective. It gives objectivity to the clinical arguments and shows that what is being done makes sense. Once you have that objectivity, it becomes unarguable. People might have their opinion about things, but they can’t argue with the science.
“We have created a task force with nine members. Some of them were at the Annual Meeting, so we were able to meet in person, and the others joined virtually. This community of people is now talking about a range issues.
“The first is that we are seeking to give the task force a new name that more appropriately conveys what we are trying to do, which is a full integration of basic research and clinical science.
“The second is the possibility of creating an online forum for members to communicate via EACTS. The idea is to create an online platform that will be an informal gathering place for scientists, where they can exchange research findings and ideas.
“Why might we need a gathering place? For several reasons. For example, as scientists and surgeons we sometimes need to shop around for a particular supplier of samples or a particular technique, and we have all been in the situation where that has not worked out so well. Imagine if we had the ability to communicate with each other and ask for advice and if anybody has tried a certain supplier or tried a certain technique? This could be important with items such as specimens because they come at a premium cost. They are not something that you can easily replace off the shelf. With luck, this could help avoid those situations where you have spent a lot of money on a set of experiments and got a double whammy of negativity – you didn’t get the result you wanted and you’ve spent your budget.
“It could also connect research projects. Researchers would be able to see what other researchers are doing. One idea is to list laboratories around the world and the projects they are currently working on. This could facilitate the ability of personnel to transfer their skills from project to project.
“Such a platform would also allow virtual meetings and conferences that would be effective and inexpensive. We could have researchers from Berlin, Vienna, London and Paris all gathering into a virtual space and talking about the projects that they’re working on.
“The final potential initiative that came out of the discussions at the Annual Meeting is to create a writing practice course. Surgeons and scientists haven’t necessarily been taught how to present their work. Some are good at it, but some aren’t. This course would help people who are writing articles, presenting their work or preparing grant applications. It would focus on giving the audience exactly what they need.
“Related to this, we’re also looking at helping members to understand the different types and tiers of funding for their work, and how to apply for that funding.”
