Thanks to the generosity of the Forgan-Smith family, The Kate Forgan-Smith Memorial Bursary has allowed Ellie van der List to attend the European Association for Study of the Liver (EASL) Congress in Amsterdam.
During 7-10 May Dr Ellie van der List had the opportunity to attend the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Congress in Amsterdam, one of the leading conferences in hepatology. It was a trip made possible through the generous support of the Forgan-Smith family, who established a bursary through the Foundation in honour of the late Dr Kate Forgan-Smith, a former liver fellow at Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH).
The EASL Congress brought together over 7000 international delegates for a series of world-class sessions, workshops, and presentations across all areas of liver disease. While every EASL conference offers a wide breadth of topics, this year’s focus on autoimmune and cholestatic liver diseases was particularly meaningful for Dr van der List.
“These are relatively rare conditions, and they’re often underrepresented at national conferences, last year’s Australian Gastroenterology Week, didn’t have a single session of them” she explained. “The opportunity to attend the postgraduate course was an exceptional experience, I gained valuable, nuanced insights.”
During the congress, Dr van der List gained deeper insights into the diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cholangitis, and primary sclerosing cholangitis, areas that she had personally hoped to focus on during the fellowship. She described the experience as both educational and energising, with presentations that balanced merging research with practical, real-world case management.
There were small histology workshops, where hepatologists and pathologists guided participants through diagnostic liver cases that included liver histology slides. It was an interactive session that gave participants an opportunity to further their knowledge in liver histology and how this applies to a clinical case.
Dr van der List’s connection to hepatology and to the late Dr Kate Forgan-Smith began years earlier, during her internship at PA Hospital, where she first worked with Kate on the wards and on a research project.
“Kate was a brilliant doctor – sensible, clever, and had an endearing bedside manner,” – Dr van der List said. “Throughout my training I have looked to Dr Forgan-Smith as a role model in gastroenterology”. “I am deeply grateful to the Forgan-Smith family for their generosity. The bursary is a wonderful way of continuing Kate’s legacy of promoting exceptional care for liver patients.”
