COFFI consortium conference held in Oslo, Norway.

In March 2024, 35  members from the COFFI consortium , along with external guests and early to mid-career researchers from the UK, USA, Norway, Netherlands, Australia, and France, gathered for an in-person conference at the Soria Moria Hotel in Voksenkollveien, Oslo, Norway. This long-anticipated event was initially planned for 2020 but was postponed to comply with global travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The primary objective of the meeting was to develop a  comprehensive strategy for COFFI moving forwards, particularly in regard to:

•       Strategic research priorities

•       development of a COFFI-led PIFS case definition

•       Communication and dissemination of research findings

Below is a brief outline of the 3-day conference event:

Session 1	Current research and novel results among the COFFI partners – presentation of COFFI cohorts
Session 2	Organisation and work plan for the consumer advisory committee (CAC) and the early/mid-career researcher group (E/MCR) in COFFI
Session 3	Model of PIFS disease mechanisms, encompassing hypotheses regarding mechanistic relationships and suggested studies to test them.
Session 4	Research plan and priorities
Session 5	A plan for the development of COFFI with respect to intervention trials
Session 6	A strategy for communication and dissemination activities
Session 7	Summing up – meeting achievements and the road ahead

Outcomes:

To keep the discussion moving, further strategic development of COFFI will be undertaken in eight Project Working Groups (PWGs).

The PWGs for COFFI are funding, networking (communication and dissemination plan), developing a consensus case definition of PIFS (including Long-COVID), sharing data and specimens, advancing professional development, conducting candidate intervention trials in PIFS, and developing a protective plan. All PWG tasks are targeted for completion by the end of 2024.