Dear friends and Colleagues,

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to Sheffield, the "steel city" at the heart of Yorkshire, United Kingdom, to celebrate the 40th IPPA Advanced Course in Paediatric Pathology. The meeting will be held between the 22-28 September, 2018, in the Royal Victoria Holiday Inn.

The city’s history, in South Yorkshire County, can be traced back to the founding of a settlement in the second half of the 1st millennium AD. Between the 6th and 9th century, following the Norman Conquest of England, Sheffield Castle was built to control the Saxon settlements and Sheffield developed into a small town, at the confluence of the rivers Sheaf and Don.

By the 14th century, Sheffield was noted for its production of knives, and by 1600, it had become the second centre of cutlery production in England after London. In the 1740s, the crucible steel and the Sheffield silver plate were significantly improved allowing a much better production quality.

Sheffield was the birth place of the IPPA Course, with the first meeting taking place in 1979. Designed and organised by Professor John Emery, with the help of Jonne Huber, his close friend and Dutch colleague, the course has run uninterruptedly and continued to successfully flourish and inspire paediatric and perinatal pathologists from around the world, creating bridges and rich networking opportunities.

It is time to commemorate the IPPA Course in its Ruby 40th anniversary, and it is most appropriate that this takes place in Sheffield. We have planned a celebration which will bring together memories and highlights from the past. The academic programme is being prepared and it will cover topics in foetal, perinatal, placental, and paediatric pathology. Participants from more than 30 countries are expected to attend.

For the opening session, a historian will lecture on the history of the spreading of the plague in the area in 1665.

In addition, we will enjoy excursions to Castleton and the Blue John Cavern, to Chatsworth, and to Eyam. Bring suitable shoes for these excursions as we will enjoy walking and climbing up (in Stanage Edge Trig Point at the heart of the Peak District) and down (in the Blue John Cavern).

The Royal Victoria Holiday Inn is very close to the rail station (20 minutes’ walk or 5 minutes taxi). The temperature around this time of the year will be around 18°C, although it can be cool during the evening and it is likely to rain (58 mm monthly rainfall). Social dinner will take place at Sheffield City Hall, a neo-classical building with a giant portico, which dates back to 1932.

I would like to express my thanks to my colleagues, friends, family and Marketing Sheffield staff for their endless help, support and advice in planning all aspects of the course.

I hope that you will enjoy the course and that your interaction with your colleagues from many different countries will stimulate a creative exchange of ideas and will be personally rewarding. I also trust that you will enjoy your visit to the city of Sheffield and the beautiful Peak District in September 2018.

Looking forward to receiving you in the steel city,

Yours

Dr. Marta Cohen

Course Director & Local Organiser