Save the best for last! The final session of the successful ESWW 2025 was dedicated to the award ceremony for the two best mid-career elevator pitches and the best poster. Meanwhile, the sun began to gleam above the snowy mountains surrounding the picturesque Eibsee.
The recipients of the best mid-career elevator pitch awards were Jatinder Minas (Leicester, United Kingdom) and Nina Halkes (Rotterdam, the Netherlands). Both honorees were invited to present their pitches to the entire ESWW audience.
Jatinder Minas’s presentation focused on protective and reparative processes following acute intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH). He discussed the relationship between remote diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) lesions and poor functional outcomes in acute ICH patients and considered whether these DWI lesions represent collateral damage or indicate an overactivation of reparative mechanisms.
Nina Halkes called for a reevaluation of the duration of antiplatelet therapy (AP) in young stroke patients. She emphasised that most supporting evidence for lifelong AP stems from studies conducted in elderly populations. In younger individuals, the benefits remain uncertain and potential complications may outweigh advantages. This clinical dilemma forms the basis for the newly launched STOP trial.
The award for best mid-career poster went to Bernhard Matthias Siepen from Bern, Switzerland. In his poster, he elaborated on a phase II randomised clinical trial assessing the efficacy of a care bundle for ICH patients. The care bundle includes intensive blood pressure control, reversal of anticoagulant drugs, administration of tranexamic acid, admission to a stroke unit / ICU and neurosurgical evaluation.
During the poster presentations, senior attendees were challenged to answer questions regarding the mid-career candidates presenting their posters. Daniel Strbian from Helsinki, Finland, distinguished himself by correctly answering the majority of these questions and received the Mid-career researcher engagement award as well.
The final closing remarks were given by Rustam Al Shahi Salman, reassuring all attendees that this year, everyone could make a safe trip home.
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ESOC is Europe’s leading forum for advances in research and clinical care of patients with cerebrovascular diseases. ESOC 2025 will live up to its expectation, and present to you a packed, high quality scientific programme including major clinical trials, state-of-the-art seminars, educational workshops, scientific communications of the latest research, and debates about current controversies. Learn more.
