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.
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