Prestige-AF Annual Meeting – London 2023

On 17th November, the PRESTIGE-AF consortium met in London, UK for the project’s sixth annual meeting – the first in-person annual meeting since 2019.

The meeting was a welcome opportunity to reconnect and hear how each of the twelve work packages are progressing, encouraging collaborative learning and exchange of information. The day began bright and early, as members of the consortium arrived at the beautiful 58 Prince’s Gate building at Imperial College London.

Coordinator of PRESTIGE-AF and Chair of Stroke Medicine at Imperial College London (UK), Professor Veltkamp kicked off the meeting by welcoming everyone and providing an overview of the full day of presentations ahead.

Prof Veltkamp welcoming the consortium at Imperial College London

Dr Eleni Korompoki addressed the consortium by providing a scientific update to attendees both in the room and those joining virtually. After hearing updates from several work packages, the group paused for a well-deserved lunch break.

Members of the consortium trying out the PRESTIGE-AF escape room
Communications Manager, Harry Jenkins, discussing future plans for the project’s dissemination activities

During this break, Communications Manager for the project, Harry Jenkins, ran a session of the PRESTIGE-AF escape room, which had been created to communicate aspects of the project to external audiences. This was the first time members of the consortium were able to try out the experience for themselves. The session was met with much enthusiasm and positive feedback, with the team managing to escape with four minutes to spare!

After lunch, the consortium had the opportunity to break into working groups to discuss a range of topics and encourage collaboration across teams. The consortium reconvened to share key takeaways from their respective working groups and continue to hear from work group leaders on their research progress from the past year.

Prof Valeria Caso discussing participation of female patients in trials

To round off the day, the consortium heard feedback from the Executive Committee, who commended the team for their progress and expressed their interest in how the upcoming twelve months will unfold. Prof Veltkamp provided his final remarks and closed the meeting, with an optimistic outlook on the months ahead.

It was a great day and we already look forward to seeing each other again next year (in a soon to be decided location), for our final meeting and celebration of the project!