January 2010 LAM update

The Director and Trustees of the New Zealand LAM Trust, were saddened by the sudden death in Auckland on January 11th of Professor Peter Black. Professor Black was a great researcher with a passionate interest in airways disease and pharmacology. He had shown an ongoing interest in LAM investigation and his research work was highly regarded both locally and internationally; Professor Black’s sudden and very premature death has saddened the medical and research community and our condolences go out to his family.

Two International LAM conferences will be held in the USA during the first half of this year; The American LAM Foundation Conference 2010 will be held in Cincinnati, April 7th -9th and the LAM Treatment Alliance will host a LAM booth at the American Thoracic Society’s annual meeting which will be held in mid May in New Orleans.

The LAM Trust’s Director will attend both meetings as part of the organisation’s continuing commitment to taking an integral part in the global network of LAM research and patient support.

November 2009 saw the 10th anniversary of the establishment of New Zealand LAM Trust; we look towards the next months and years with hope, in the knowledge that the past decade has been one of extraordinary scientific progress in this rare and cruel disease. We take this opportunity of, again, thanking family and friends, colleagues, and our research teams, here in New Zealand and around the world for their work and support.