Onward and Upward
Dear ECNP members,
This is the first message from your new ECNP President — coming right after a hugely successful annual congress! For me, it is both a great honour and joy to take over this role from our previous president, Martien Kas. He has made it both easy and challenging for me: easy, because he hands over such a well-organised and dynamic organisation that has made amazing progress in recent years; challenging, because following in his footsteps will be no small task.
On behalf of the entire Executive Committee, past and present, I want to thank Martien wholeheartedly for his dedication and achievements over the past three years — his impact on ECNP will be felt for a long time. Fortunately, he’s still with us as past president, so we won’t have to miss him just yet!
Our annual congress, once again held in beautiful Amsterdam, was a record-breaker in many ways. With almost 7,700 participants and 2,200 abstract submissions, ECNP has once again demonstrated its leading role in applied neuroscience. The quantity and, even more so, the quality of submissions show that our participants don’t just come for the scenery, but for the science – which is, after all, the main purpose of our meeting.
We were also delighted to see so many early career researchers — 45% of all attendees! This is a strong sign that our continuous efforts to support and educate the next generation of researchers are paying off. A big thank you goes to Barbara Franke and her Scientific Programme Committee for putting together such an excellent programme!
As we’ve modernised and refreshed the congress format several times over the past decade, it’s time to do so again — to stay relevant, engaging, and forward-looking. So, to all of you who attended: what did you like best about this year’s congress? What should we definitely keep, and what could use a fresh touch? What did you miss? Please share your thoughts at this e-mail address.
With this congress, a new Executive Committee has also been elected — you can find the new members here. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank those who are stepping down for their hard work and dedication to the College. We hope you’ll stay connected and continue to contribute to ECNP’s mission!
This term brings quite a bit of renewal, with five new EC members: Christina Dalla, Vibe Gedsø Frøkjær, Livia de Picker, Carmen Moreno, and John Cryan — although John isn’t entirely new, having served as head of the SPC for three years. Please join me in giving them all a warm welcome– we are very happy to have them on (the) board and I’m really looking forward to working with them in the years ahead.
As I mentioned during the General Assembly of Members, I have chosen four main focus areas for my presidency. The first two continue initiatives launched over the past five years:
3. Making AI in mental health a top priority for ECNP. There’s no doubt that AI will transform all aspects of our lives — including the understanding and treatment of mental disorders. ECNP will therefore expand its applied neuroscience portfolio to include AI in research, diagnostics, and therapy — and also look closely at how AI itself affects mental health in society;
4. Finally, I want to address the innovation gap between the US and the EU, which deeply concerns me. Too many medications with new mechanisms of action — think of dextromethorphan/bupropion, xanomeline/trospium chloride, and lumateperone — are not even submitted for approval in Europe. The reasons are complex, but we need to work together to close this gap for the benefit of our patients.
You’ll hear more about the last two topics in upcoming Messages from the President.
For now, I wish you a peaceful autumn and hope you’ll find some light and warmth during the winter months ahead.
