We have just received the summary message from the 25^th  IPV Conference Organizing Committee.

Dear Colleagues……

With this “last announcement” we would like to summarize the 25th International Papillomavirus (IPV) Conference in Malmö, Sweden and thank all those who contributed to making the conference such an extraordinarily successful event.

Jubilee and Nobel Prize Celebration

A major theme of the 25th IPV was celebration, which was underlined at the Opening Ceremony at the Malmö Opera. It was a 25th jubilee for a successful conference series that has brought the interdisciplinary HPV field together and hosted the original public presentations of many seminal discoveries, including the discovery of the cervical cancer-causing papillomaviruses, their mechanisms of transformation, the preven­tive HPV vaccines and the HPV-based cervical screening tests. Another major reason for the celebration was the fact that the discovery of the cervical cancer-causing papillomaviruses was also awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

Larger than ever before – ample opportunity for global networking

With 2225 participants, out of which >2000 were foreign delegates from 80 different countries, the 25th IPV was one of the largest international con­ferences ever held in Southern Sweden.

Webcasting of Lectures – A Lasting Educational Resource

For the first time, the reviews were peer-reviewed to en­sure accuracy and clarity. Furthermore, the review lectures were broadcast on the web such that everyone in the en­tire world will for free be able to listen to these lectures and study the slides at their convenience. Just click on hpv2009.org/webcasts.htm and select the review lecture of your choice.

Abstracts & Scientific Presentations

With the amazing amount of high quality abstracts submitted, the IPV has consolidated its position as the leading conference encompassing all areas of HPV research, from clini­cal vaccinology to molecular biology. About 3300 authors submitted 966 abstracts, which were presented as 887 posters and 237 oral presentations. The amount of printed matter would have sufficed to build a skyscraper!

Peer-Reviewed Educational Review Lectures

The conference started with an Edu­cational Pre-conference that provided updated reviews by distinguished ex­perts on the essential facts on HPV that underpin the cancer-preventive efforts targeting HPV.

Favourable evaluation

The conference received very high marks in the evaluation by partici­pants. E.g., 94% thought the con­ference was well organised and 95% thought the content and speakers were good. 97% strongly agree or agree that they have learned something from this event.

One participant stated: “The work­shop was the best organised ever from all previous HPV conferenc­es. Outstanding! I will use the ma­terials on the web during my entire year with my students! Thanks for organising such a wonderful re­source.”

We are looking forward to see you in Montreal at the 26th International Papillomavirus Conference with Clinical and Public Health Workshops July 3-8, 2010, www.hpv2010.org

Please also see the attachment that also contains pictures from the conference.

The 25^th IPV ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Joakim Dillner, Peter Bistoletti, Lena Dillner, Kristina Elfgren, Ola Forslund, Bengt-Göran Hansson,Geo von Krogh (deceased), Bodil Norrild, Stefan Schwartz, Marc Steben, Thomas Zheng