Whittlebury Hall

Whittlebury Hall, a four star management training centre, hotel and spa situated in the heart of rural Northamptonshire, a short drive from Silverstone and just 10 minutes from Junction 15A of the M1 motorway. More info on Whittlebury Hall

All hotel residential guests will have complimentary access to the hotel’s extensive leisure facilities including a gymnasium, swimming pool and sauna, steam and jacuzzi facilities. In addition to these standard leisure facilities, hotel residential guests will have the option of the Heat and Ice Experience within the separate spa, as part of the Twilight Spa package on Friday evening.

EVENT FORMAT

The format for 2009 will revert back to the traditional format in that the event will start on Friday evening and finish on Sunday afternoon.

Delegates can arrive at their leisure and check in from 1500hrs on Friday 20th November.

There will be two options (see below) for dinner on Friday evening, followed by the traditional ‘SLIDE SESSION’.

All delegates will be invited into the main meeting room for an informal discussion of slides and/or digital photographs of interesting and challenging cases, followed by the bar!

After supper (whichever option you chose to follow) all delegates will be invited into the main meeting room for an informal discussion of slides and/or digital photographs of interesting and challenging cases, followed by the bar!

After a full day of presentations on Saturday, we will be holding a Gala Dinner at the hotel. Guests will meet for a drinks reception before a three course dinner, followed by some interactive entertainment in the form of a Quiz!

Presentations will begin again on Sunday morning, and the event will close at approximately 1600hrs.

OPTION 1- TWILIGHT SPA PACKAGE

The Twilight Spa package includes access to the Heat and Ice Experience section of the main hotel spa, together with a light supper and a glass of wine. The usual hotel supplement applied to access this special section of the spa has been removed for the BrAVO conference (for Friday evening only).

The Heat and Ice Experience provides body sensations as a result of different temperatures. Move through the different treatment rooms, increasing your body’s temperature, before stepping into the Ice Cave to stimulate your circulation and senses, whilst aiding the elimination of toxins and exfoliating your skin! Your body will feel invigorated and your skin will feel soft, smooth and hydrated.

OPTION 2- SUPPORT IN BENTLEY'S BAR

If the Heat and Ice Experience is not for you, then simply head to Bentley’s Bar to enjoy a buffet supper with a glass of wine.

Click here to register

We are delighted to be able to welcome Dr Andras Komaromy as this years keynote speaker from overseas. Dr. András M. Komáromy DrMedVet, PhD, DACVO, DECVO Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology is a clinician scientist in the Department of Clinical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in Philadelphia; joining as a post-doctoral fellow in 2003 and becoming an Assistant Professor in 2004. He received his veterinary degree from the University of Zurich in Switzerland, was an intern in small animal medicine and surgery at the Michigan State University, and obtained his PhD and veterinary ophthalmology training at the University of Florida. Dr. Komáromy is a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist. As a clinician, he has a strong interest in comparative ophthalmology, diagnosing and treating eye diseases in various animal species. Dr. Komáromy is member and intermittent chief of the Ophthalmology Service at the Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also directs the veterinary ophthalmology residency program. Before receiving his first research grant from the National Eye Institute / National Institutes of Health (NIH/NEI) in 2009, he was enrolled in the Penn Vision Clinical Scientist Program at the Scheie Eye Institute; the first and only veterinarian to date going through this program designed for human ophthalmologists. His primary research and clinical interests are determining the molecular causes of inherited retinal diseases in the dog and developing treatment approaches to ameliorate sight degeneration. Dr. Komáromy has published over 50 scientific articles and book chapters, and he has been an invited speaker at several national and international conferences.

We are also very happy to welcome Emma Scurrell BVSc DipACVP to BrAVO this year. Emma is a veterinary pathologist with a special interest in ocular pathology. She trained at the Royal Veterinary College, London and is now working at CytoPath Ltd in Herefordshire. She is passionate about all aspects of histopathology but none so much as the eye. Having worked in general practice prior to specialising as a pathologist, Emma is able to relate the clinical ophthalmic condition readily to the pathology and make sense of all that appears ‘a pink and purple blur’ to the rest of us. Her enthusiasm is infectious and she is keen to try and bridge the gap between clinicians and pathologists. She will talk about some common, and some not so common, ophthalmic conditions.

Following on from the excellent introduction to ophthalmic anaesthesia that we all enjoyed at this years spring BrAVO meeting, we are now fortunate to continue our CPD into this aspect of ophthalmology with a presentation by Ms Karen Walsh DVA DipECVAA. Karen will teach us about how to safely manage the use of muscle relaxation for intraocular or corneal procedures. Karen has not only worked as an anaesthesia specialist but has also spent several years of her career after completion of her anaesthesia training in emergency and general veterinary medicine. Owing to this, Karen’s talks always remain practical and relevant to the practitioner.

ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS

As always, we welcome Abstract Submissions from all members, so please read through this section of the information pack for abstract guidelines and the abstract submission form. Please note that the deadline for Abstract Submissions is earlier than usual this year.

SPONSORS & EXHIBITORS

We will once again be joined by a number of exhibitors who are generously supporting this event and who will give you the opportunity to browse the latest in ophthalmic products and equipment during the meeting.

More details of these supporting companies will be available in due course.

Register here

TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS

It has been impossible to locate a suitable venue with ideal transport links this year, despite the best efforts of JC Conferences and the BrAVO committee. BrAVO will therefore strive to assist delegates with a limited shuttle service.

EVENT AND DELEGATE MANAGEMENT

We are delighted to announce the appointment of JC Conferences as our new event management company for 2009. They have worked very hard on sourcing and securing a suitable location for our event and have also successfully negotiated some excellent rates at Whittlebury Hall which have resulted in much lower delegate registration fees.

Our main contact at JC Conferences is Emma Villa and she can be contacted on 020 7384 2363 or via email to emma@jcconferences.co.uk if you have any queries on registration or other aspects of the event. Emma will also be on-site during the event to offer assistance as required.

We very much look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in November for what we hope to be another successful weekend!
BrAVO Committee