ECCMID 2017 Highlights: COMBACTE’s Scientific Coordinator Marc Bonten

40 days to go until the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID). COMBACTE will be present at this year’s ECCMID in the exhibition hall, and will host its 5th consecutive Investigators Meeting. This week’s highlight is Prof. Dr. Marc Bonten, scientific coordinator and Management Board member of the IMI-funded COMBACTE consortium. Prof. Dr. Bonten talks about his path to microbiology and the importance of ECCMID.

When was your first ECCMID? How did you experience that?

“It was in 1991 in Oslo when I attended ECCMID for the first time. Back then I was a medical student doing research, and I was very impressed.  It also happened to be my first conference ever. At that time there was no internet, so from a conference like ECCMID you would leave with a great deal of new information.”

COMBACTE joined the ECCMID for the first time in 2013 in Berlin. How does that compare to where we are now when we attend it?

“There is definitely some significant progress since then. In the first years when we were starting to attend we could only talk about plans. Nowadays we are able to show and discuss results.”

Why is it important that COMBACTE participates at ECCMID?

“ECCMID is the prime European meeting for clinical microbiology and infectious diseases, and that is exactly the field where COMBACTE is active. I believe the meetings we have been holding at ECCMID have significantly contributed to increasing the interest of our colleagues in Europe to become part of COMBACTE.”

This year is the 5^th consecutive Investigators Meeting. Why is this an important meeting?

“It is important because here we are able to specifically show our network what we have achieved so far, and what the plans are. It is also a great opportunity for our active colleagues in COMBACTE to present their results. Basically we are discussing what we have done, what we are doing, and what the plans are for the future.”

What is it that you enjoy most about ECCMID?

“For me the yearly Investigators Meeting is what I enjoy most. I also really like to see the young students, the young physicians, and the PhD students from our group presenting their work. Overall I find it very nice to network with the other European peers and colleagues. I am trying to attend all sessions where the people from our Utrecht group are presenting.”

What is your role during ECCIMD 2017?

“This year I will be chairing a session on mathematical modeling on the first day of the congress. My role specifically is to see how PhD students perform. Besides that I will also be present at the COMBACTE booth, where I will have a few meetings.”

You are part of many organizations and committees: head of the Department of Medical Microbiology, leading the research group of infectious Disease Epidemiology of the Julius Center at UMC Utrecht, Professor of Molecular Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases, initiator of the Netherlands Centre of One Health, and the list continues. How do you divide your time between all these activities? How are you still able to stay motivated?

“It is a continuous balance of priorities. Although it would be difficult to do this without the help of the people I trust. They take over many of my responsibilities and are capable of making decisions. My motivation is my passion for microbiology and infectious diseases. When you see significant positive results of the work and efforts that are made, it’s easy to stay motivated. “

Where did your interest for microbiology come from?

“When I started studying medicine in 1983, this was exactly the time when the first cases of what later became known as HIV diseases were emerging. These unknown infectious diseases always had my interest, hence my decision to choose to study infectious diseases, and later microbiology.”

Is medicine something you always wanted to pursue?

“As a child I actually wanted to become a professional football player, but due to a lack of talent and an injury I was not able to pursue it further. I was also very keen on journalism. As a medical student I earned some money with writing columns in the university magazine (for instance on students’ night life) and reporting on football games in the local journal.”

Do you have a message for our network?

“Together we can achieve something that is really unique for the world: A clinical trial network for infectious diseases in Europe. Each center that is actively participating in our network will truly benefit from it. This means improving quality of patient care, solving the problem of antimicrobial resistance, and having access to the possibility of doing your own studies within the network.”

 

On behalf of the Management Board, see you at the COMBACTE booth in Vienna, Austria, for the 27^th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID)!