ISNOCON 2012

NOC FROM MINISTRY Tribute to Dr Abhijit Guha

FROM THE ORGANISING SECRETARY

Dear Colleagues,

It is my pleasure to announce that National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences [NIMHANS], Bangalore, the premier neuroscience institute of India, is hosting the 4th Annual Conference of The Indian Society of Neuro-oncology (ISNO), from 6th to 8th April 2012 (ISNOCON 2012). With great enthusiasm, the organizing committee and host institute NIMHANS invite you to participate in this meeting and build upon the success of the previous ISNO meetings.

The conference theme for this year is “Molecular Biology and Targeted Therapies in Neuro-oncology”, in keeping with the rapid growth in cancer research and care throughout the world. The two and a half day diverse program has been designed to cover the breadth of neuro-oncology with a thrust on molecular biology and genetics, targeted therapies, novel technologies in radiotherapy and imaging, drug discovery, cancer treatment and palliative care. Eminent scientists and clinicians from India and abroad will be participating in this meeting. We assure you a vibrant platform for discussion and learning from renowned experts in the field of neuro-oncology. Additionally, we plan to blend in the flavour of the unique Indian culture with the scientific feast.

Bangalore, the Silicon Valley and emerging health hub of India, is well known for its’ diverse cultures, vast parks, towering malls and cuisines from all over the world. It has a pleasant weather all year round.

We welcome you to participate in the conference and look forward to meeting you all in April 2012 at Bangalore. Kindly mark the dates from 6th to 8th April 2012 for the conference.

Dr. Vani Santosh
Organising secretary
ISNOCON 2012

FROM PRESIDENT, ISNO

Dear Colleagues,

The Indian Society of Neuro-Oncology (ISNO) was established in 2008 and we can all be proud of the tremendous growth that our society has achieved within this short period of time. The uniqueness of ISNO is its inclusion of multiple disciplines. We welcome neurosurgeons, neurologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, neuroradiologists, neuropathologists, basic researchers, and all other professionals working actively in the field of neuro-oncology to become members and enrich this society with their knowledge, expertise and interactive discussions. We are also in the process of establishing collaborations with other international neuro-oncology societies such as Asian Society of Neuro-Oncology (ASNO), Society of Neuro-Oncology (SNO) and the World Federation of Neuro-Oncology (WFNO), so as to give ISNO an international recognition.

It is a matter of great pride that the 4th Annual Conference of the ISNO is being hosted by NIMHANS, Bangalore, which is one of the premier Neuroscience centres of the country. The theme chosen for the conference “Molecular Biology and Targeted Therapies in Neuro-Oncology” is most apt in today’s context of the rapid advances occurring in this speciality.  Prof. Vani Santosh and her team are very committed and are working hard to prepare an academically rich scientific programme. I must congratulate them for having put together an excellent team of invited international and national faculty.

The scientific programme will not only feature state-of-art lectures by the masters of the field but also include several free paper and poster sessions. I am sure that all participants will take advantage of this unique opportunity of learning through the diverse programme designed to cover the breadth of Neuro-oncology.  It is a meeting “not to be missed” as it promises to be a scientific feast for one and all in Neuro-oncology.

On behalf of the Executive Committee of ISNO, I invite you all to attend this conference and make it a success!

Prof.Chitra Sarkar
President, ISNO

FROM THE SECRETARY'S DESK

Dear Friends,

The Indian Society of NeuroOncology (ISNO) is truly well established and continues its quest view to promote and advance the scientific knowledge and research in tumours arising from the nervous system. Dissemination of evidence based knowledge and progress within the neuro-oncology community especially in the existing heterogeneous health care systems in our country remains one of the main aims of the society. Generating quality data from vast pool of patient numbers and excellent expertise is also an enormous challenge, which the society yearns to address in the next few years. Eventually we are striving to help our patients (the ultimate beneficiary) even better, especially in our set up. 

I am delighted that the 4th Annual conference of ISNO is being held in Bangalore from April 6th to 8th, 2012 under the stewardship of Prof Vani Santosh and her team at NIMHANS. The theme of the meeting has been appropriately chosen to be “Molecular biology and therapeutic targets”, a most topical and exciting area in neuro-oncology. The organising team has already managed to rope in the Key Leaders in the field (see website) and would act as a wonderful platform to learn and deliberate the rapid strides in the field and how we can incorporate the same in our practices as well. The meeting will also hopefully try to put up Indian data and maybe initiation of a possible investigator initiated clinical trials, as well. 

I predict the meeting to be a great educational and learning exercise and will turn out to be our ‘milestone meeting’. I would request and urge all of you to mark your calendars now and spread the word to all your colleagues, students and fellow professionals.

We look forward to seeing you in great numbers in ISNOCON 2012 in Bangalore in this ‘must attend’ meeting!

Yours sincerely

Rakesh Jalali

Professor of Radiation Oncology
Convener, NeuroOncology Group, TMC
125, Tata Memorial Hospital (http://tmc.gov.in)
Parel, Mumbai - 400012. INDIA
Tel: +91 22 24177153 (work, direct); +91 22 24177000, extn. 4161, 4559 (Secretary)
Emails: rjalali@tmc.gov.in, btf@braintumourindia.com

General Secretary, Indian Society of NeuroOncology (ISNO), www.isno.in
Incharge, Brain Tumour Foundation of India (BTF), www.braintumourindia.com