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News
June 30, 2008
New Changes for the 2008 Steering Committee Election and Multiple Brighton Collaboration User Accounts
At the 2007 Steering Committee In-Person Meeting, the Steering Committee decided to widen Steering Committee election voter abilities to all Brighton Collaboration members who are subscribed to the listserv.
However, this means that now we must address and delete any duplicate user accounts, so that all listserv subscribers have exactly one vote. Please note that the Brighton Collaboration Secretariat is presently updating our membership and listserv database and is contacting user identified with many account to choose a primarily account.
We apologize for the inconvenience but assure our participants that we are doing our best to ease the transition.
Thank you,
The Secretariat
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June 20, 2008
Recruitment for the Brighton Collaboration Yellow Fever Working Group
The Brighton Collaboration (BC) is seeking additional volunteers with specific subject matter expertise in Yellow Fever Vaccine Adverse Events to join members of the long-standing CDC-coordinated Yellow Fever Vaccine Safety Working Group and form a new Brighton Collaboration Working Group. The task of this Working Group will be to review and revise the existing case definitions for viscerotropic and neurotropic disease, and develop guidelines for data collection, analysis, and presentation.
The Brighton Collaboration is an international voluntary collaboration working to facilitate the development, evaluation, and dissemination of high quality information about the safety of human vaccines. It is our goal to develop globally accepted and implemented standardized case definitions of AEFI. Without such standardization, comparability of vaccine safety data is hampered.
Active involvement in the Working Group would entail participation in regular one hour conference calls. Members are also asked to review updated documents that are provided prior to each call.
The deadline for this recruitment is July 4, 2008.
To volunteer or for additional questions, please contact us at: secretariat@brightoncollaboration.org.
Thank you and we look forward to working with you.
Sincerely,
The Brighton Collaboration Secretariat
www.brightoncollaboration.org
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April 18, 2008
Open Call for Nominees to Join the Brighton Collaboration Steering Committee
Dear Brightonians,
The Brighton Collaboration is pleased to announce an open call for potential nominees to join the Steering Committee! We invite you to propose candidates to stand for election in June of 2008. Please submit your proposed nominee to the Secretariat no later than May 12th 2008. Self-nomination is acceptable.
Qualified nominees must:
- Have an interest in promoting the collaboration and use of its case definitions and guidelines for adverse events following immunizations
- Commit time to Steering Committee duties, such as monthly conference calls, and annual two-day in-person meetings.
- Serve a three year term of office
Preference will be given to nominees who:
- Have a clinical and/or regulatory authority background (to replace our clinical and regulatory authority committee members who are rotating off)
- Have experience in and are concerned with immunization safety research
- Have experience in a developing country setting
- Have previous Brighton Collaboration experience, such as completing our web-surveys and participating in working groups
Current Steering Committee members will review the proposed nominees and select up to three nominees for each of our two upcoming vacancies, i.e., to replace an opening for a Steering Committee member with clinical background and an opening for a member with regulatory background. Please review current members at: http://www.brightoncollaboration.org/internet/en/index/structure/steering_committee.html.
Please send your proposed nominee’s name and contact info to: secretariat@brightoncollaboration.org no later than May 12th 2008.
Please contact us with any questions you may have.
Thank you,
The Secretariat
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April 16, 2008
Website Maintenance
The Brighton Collaboration server was offline for 24 hours and is now back online. Emails sent to the domain while the website was down were not lost and have been delivered to the respective recipients including the secretariat today. We apologize for the inconvenience, but we hope the change will improve our services.
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March 7, 2008
A Warm Welcome to Our New Evaluation Coordinator!
Please welcome aboard Ms. Paige Lewis, the new evaluation coordinator of the Brighton Collaboration Secretariat in Atlanta, GA, USA.
Prior to joining the Secretariat, Paige served as the quantitative epidemiologist for the Active Bacterial Core Surveillance team within the Respiratory Disease Branch at CDC. She has also assisted many surveys and studies within the Department of Environmental Control and Palmetto Health Hospital in Richland, South Carolina in data collection, data analysis and statistical support.
We look forward to working with you, Paige!
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January 25, 2008
Subscribe to the Brighton Collaboration Listserv
We encourage all members who are not currently subscribed to the Brighton Collaboration Listserv to contact the Secretariat and request the service.
Subscribed members receive our newsletters, updates on future working groups and surveys, and election news.
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December 31, 2007
The Results of the 2007 In-Person Steering Committee Meeting
The annual Steering Committee In-Person meeting took place between October 31st and November 1st 2007 in Bethesda, MD of the United States. All committee members and partners met to discuss the strategic plan of the Collaboration for the next 5 years.
Highlights included:
- Dr. Michael Blum from Wyeth and Dr. Najwa Khuri–Bulos were selected Chair and Vice-Chair respectively.
- Dr. Uli Heininger, a founder Steering Committee member of the collaboration completed his term. He will continue to work with the Steering Committee as an observer.
- The Steering Committee voted to extend voting abilities to all participants who are subscribed to our listserv.
- The Steering Committee and Secretariat will develop a new strategic plan to focus on the next 5 years
- The Collaboration will focus on more evaluation studies to involve Pandemic Influenza preparedness.
Thank you to all who participated and made the event a success!
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October 22, 2007
Congratulations are in order for Dr. Najwa Khuri-Bulos, the newly elected Steering Committee member for 2007!
Many thanks to all of you who participated in the 2007 election and special thanks to our two outstanding candidates.
As Dr. Ulrich Heininger concludes his term on the committee, Dr. Najwa Khuri-Bulos will start her official duties on October 31st at the next Steering Committee In-Person meeting. Dr. Ulrich Heininger, one of the founding members of the Brighton Collaboration, has been instrumental in the establishment and growth of the Brighton Collaboration and will continue to be actively involved as an observer on the Steering Committee. Many thanks from the Brighton community for his contributions.
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October 16, 2007
Annual Brighton Collaboration Steering Committee From October 31st to November 1st, 2007
On October 31st, Steering Committee members will meet in Bethesda, Maryland in USA to review the growth and work of the collaboration and receive updates from Brighton Collaboration partners. The winner of the Steering Committee elections will also be announced and introduced to the committee.
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October 1, 2007
New Working Group Begins Work to Create Case Definition for Diarrhea!
In September, about 43 members of the Brighton Collaboration began work on standardizing the case definition of diarrhea as an adverse event following immunization. Many of the participants come from Europe, North America, Asia, the Middle East, and South America. The participants have various backgrounds, such as academia, industry, infectious diseases, gastroenterology, public health, immunization and vaccines, pediatrics, immunology, and research. Many participants are currently working on or have conducted research in a developing country on aspects of diarrhea disease including rotavirus infection or vaccine.
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September 7, 2007
A Warm Welcome to the New General Manager!
April Compingbutra has a background in global public health, policy and management, and pandemic flu preparedness. April has worked in academic, private, and non-profit settings. She joins us from her prior position of complex humanitarian emergencies surveillance activities and avian and pandemic flu preparedess. She is very enthusiastic in working with Brighton Collaboration members and becoming part of the secretariat.
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July 12, 2007
An Overview of the Brighton Collaboration's Published Documents
In seven years, the Brighton collaboration has produced a total of 23 published documents.
In 2004, the Brighton Collaboration created case definitions or guidelines about:
- Persistent Crying
- Hypotonic-hyporesponsive Episode
- Fever
- Intussusception
- Nodule at Injection Site
- Generalized Convulsive Seizure.
In 2007, the collaboration created case definitions and/or guidelines about:
- Vaccinia Virus AEFI (Including: Eczema Vaccinatum, Generalized Vaccinia, Indadvertent Inoculation, Progressive Vaccinia, and Robust Take)
- Aseptic Meningitis
- Encephalitis, Myelitis, and Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM)
- Encephalomyelitis
- Local Reactions (Including: Abscess, Cellulitis, Induration, and Swelling)
- Unexplained Sudden Death, Including Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
- Thombocytopenia
- Anaphylaxis
- Rash
- Fatiguing Illness Including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
In the same year, the Brighton Collaboration also created a methodology paper to explain how to develop standardized case definitions and guidelines for adverse events following immunization.
Thank you to all members who made this possible!
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May 15, 2006
A new General Manager for the Atlanta, GA, USA position has been recruited!
Tracy Thomas has a background in mathematics, epidemiology, and biostatistics and has worked in private, federal, and academic settings. She has been with the CDC since 2003 and joins us from her prior position of leading active surveillance activities related to the smallpox vaccine. She is very enthusiastic in working with Brighton Collaboration members and becoming part of the team.
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March 1, 2006
A new General Coordinator for the Basel/ Switzerland position has recently been recruited!
Dr. Barbara A. Rath, a medical doctor and fellow in paediatric infectious diseases, will be starting to coordinate the Collaboration from July 2006.
NOTE: The Brighton Collaboration continues the search for a General Coordinator to be based in Atlanta, USA. Interested individuals please refer to the official announcement from January 25, 2006.
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January 25, 2006
- General Coordinator position openings in Atlanta, USA and Basel, Switzerland
We are seeking individuals with a medical background and a keen interest in immunization safety, international public health, epidemiology, immunology, or a related field to provide scientific guidance and leadership to working groups and Secretariat activities.
Requirements: Medical or doctoral degree, fluent in spoken and written English, excellent interpersonal and organizational skills, ability and desire to travel internationally to scientific meetings to present on behalf of the Collaboration, and commitment of at least two years.
Optional, but preferred: Fluency in German (for the Basel position), knowledge of and experience in vaccine trials, vaccine safety, epidemiology, immunology, or public health, ability to lead multidisciplinary, multicultural, voluntary scientific working groups.
For more information, please contact secretariat@brightoncollaboration.org or the following:
for the Basel position, contact Prof. Ulrich Heininger, University Children's Hospital Basel, Paediatric Infectious Disease and Vaccines (Ulrich.Heininger@unibas.ch, +41-61-685-6528)
Work permit for successful applicants will be facilitated non-Swiss applicants.
for the Atlanta position, contact Dr. Katrin Kohl, Immunization Safety Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (kkohl@cdc.gov, +1-404-639-8073)
When applying, please include your curriculum vitae and provide references with contact information.
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January 5, 2006
- The Brighton Collaboration after 5 years of work
To date 6 published and 19 pre-published case definitions for AEFI have been developed. Formal evaluation of selected case definitions in surveillance systems showed overall appropriately high applicability, reliability, sensitivity and specificity.
The Collaboration has grown to a good number of 794 participants coming from 71 different countries (see Figure). The current proportion of working group and reference group members from developing countries is 15% and 34%, respectively. Increasingly, regulatory authorities recommend Brighton Collaboration standards and cooperation with a joint WHO and Council for International Organisations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) working group to endorse BC definitions has begun.
We are pleased to report that a global network for setting new standards in immunization safety has been implemented within this relatively short period!
Participation in working groups and reference groups from less developed countries continues to be a challenge.
However, YOU can help us balance participation from different geographical areas.
If you are interested to join a working group or participate in a reference group please feel free to contact the Brighton Collaboration secretariat: secretariat@brightoncollaboration.org
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December 2, 2005
- Annual Steering Committee in-person meeting
The Secretariat held their annual meeting with the Steering Committee in Geneva, Switzerland in November. Both newly elected Steering Committee members, Odile Leroy and Katrin Kohl, were present. We sincerely thank outgoing members Bob Chen and Philippe Duclos for their invaluable time and effort since the inception of the Collaboration. Miles Braun and Ulrich Heininger were voted in as the new Chair and Vice-Chair of the Steering Committee, respectively.
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May 4, 2005
- Steering Committee Election 2005
Two new Steering Committee members will be elected in late May - early June. Four excellent candidates have accepted the nomination, and we are currently updating our online election process. All Brighton Collaboration members who are eligible to vote will be contacted as soon as the election process is finalized.
Details of the results will be available on our website as they have been in past elections.
The accuracy of the voting information will be examined and confirmed by Brigitte Keller-Stanislawski and Mike Marcy, the Chair and Vice Chairs of the Steering Committee, respectively.
Accordingly, the two new members of the Steering Committee will serve a 3 year term, joining current members. Bob Chen and Philippe Duclos will resign their posts as Steering Committee members after this election.
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March 9, 2004
- Brighton Collaboration Foundation
In February 2004, the first board meeting of the Brighton Collaboration Foundation officially launched the mission of the Foundation. In December 2003, the Foundation was registered in Basel (CH-270.7.002.873-2). The founder is the University Children’s Hospital Basel, and the Swiss Government acts as the supervisory authority. Its physical address is Brighton Collaboration Foundation, Römergasse 8, 4058 Basel, Switzerland.
The Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit organization, which can accept funding and responsibly create strategies that help donors and the Brighton Collaboration scientists to achieve their common goals.
The Foundation was established to connect outside partners and resources with the Brighton Collaboration scientists to build strategies that can substantially enhance the Brighton Collaboration’s impact.
The Foundation is dedicated to fostering the attainment of the Brighton Collaboration’s vision to promote, protect and preserve public health through development, evaluation, and dissemination of high quality information about the safety of human vaccines.
- Use of Definitions & Guidelines
We are aware of 39 different study groups or surveillance systems from 17 countries, who requested the first 6 definitions & guidelines documents for 52 different study questions. Anybody evaluating or implementing our first finalized documents is being asked to provide feedback to us. Please spread the word about the availability of our documents.
- Funding
The Brighton Collaboration very much appreciates the receipt of additional funding by CDC and WHO.
However, we have a considerable lack of funds to increase our efficiency and productivity. If you are aware of any potential sponsors for the Collaboration, please contact secretariat@brightoncollaboration.org.
- Current developments
A total of 157 active Working Group Members currently participate in 16 case definitions and guidelines working groups. The Local Reaction Working Group is currently drafting documents for "abscess, "cellulitis, "swelling", and "induration", and will continue to address further local reactions. The other working groups namely Allergic Reactions (anaphylaxis), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Encephalitis, Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia, Aseptic Meningitis, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, Rash, and Smallpox vaccine AEFI (eczema vaccinatum, progressive vaccinia, generalized vaccinia, robust take, and inadvertent inoculation) have started developing their respective case definitions and guidelines.
We would like to express our deep gratitude to all of you volunteering for our common goal.
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February 15, 2004
- Publication of first finalized case definition & guidelines documents
On January 26, 2004 the journal Vaccine published finalized case definitions & guidelines documents for "persistent crying", "fever", "hypotonic-hyporesponsive episode", "intussusception", "nodule at injection site", and "generalized convulsive seizure".
Documents can be downloaded here.
We encourage widespread use of the documents and invite comments on their usefulness. Contact us with comments at: secretariat@brightoncollaboration.org.
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October 20, 2003
- Partnership with CDC Foundation
In September 2003, the CDC Foundation wrote its first funding proposal for the Brighton Collaboration to be shared with potential future donors. If you are interested in supporting the work of the Brighton Collaboration through donations to an independent U.S. not-for-profit organization, you can contact the CDC Foundation at:
50 Hurt Plaza, Suite 765
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Phone (404) 653-0790
Toll free (888) 880-4CDC
Fax (404) 653-0330
or contact Geoffrey Risch, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, at grisch@cdc.gov.
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July 15, 2003
- 3rd Anniversary!
Celebrating our three year anniversary, we are pleased to report that our participation of listserve members has increased from 5 in 2000 to 459 in 2003 and the number of countries from the five countries of our founders to 54 countries around the world. However, YOU can help us balance participation from different geographical areas. Currently, almost 50% of our participants are from the United States.
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Newsletters
Click here to download and view the current and past versions of the Brighton Collaboration newsletter.
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