The VPH2024 Conference in Stuttgart has come to a close, and what an incredible four days it has been! With over 400 participants gathered to share cutting-edge research, foster new collaborations, and push the frontiers of in silico medicine, the event has truly confirmed its status as the premier conference in this field.
The Scientific Program
The scientific program covered three days and was filled with inspiring keynote talks, insightful workshops, and vibrant networking opportunities. The event showcased the reach and depth of in silico research, providing attendees with fresh perspectives and opportunities to collaborate on future innovations. If you would like to get more information on the programme, the book of abstracts is available at this link.
Key Highlights
- In Silico World Final Event: The event drew in 180 attendees and it was a fantastic opportunity to reflect on the incredible progress achieved across the last 4 years in accelerating the adoption of in silico trials. The VPHi has also played a key role in the project, mainly focusing on Communication, Stakeholder Engagement and RRI activities.
One of the last tasks of ISW is to finalise the SWOT Analysis process. The main reason is to provide the whole community with robust and factual arguments to advocate for investing in In Silico Trials with senior management across the whole sector. Attendees and anyone who might be interested are encouraged to join the discussion on the Community of Practice on Slack, further emphasizing the collaborative spirit of the VPH2024: https://bit.ly/3VKTMWz
- Avicenna Days: For the first time, it was great to have this industry driven event taking place at our conference, featuring an impressive list of speakers from industry, regulators and academia in multiple animated panel discussions, creating an opportunity to discuss recent progress and reflect on the future. The recordings of the event will be available soon on the Avicenna website. Keep an eye on it.
- VPHi Panel Discussion: This year's discussion focused on the importance of community work for advancing science and healthcare. Prestigious speakers took the stage from a variety of fields: we had a policy maker, industry and academia representatives, an HTA representative, a Health Care professional and also a patient advocate, offering insights that sparked deep conversations among attendees. The session highlighted the key role of acting as a community in the common goal of revolutionise healthcare through in silico medicine.
- Meet-the-Mentor Luncheon: Organized by the VPHi Young Scientists Committee, this luncheon was a standout event. It gave students, PhD candidates, and early-career researchers a unique opportunity to connect with senior experts in the field. The discussions were invaluable, offering career guidance and helping young professionals navigate their paths within the growing in silico community.
- ASME V&V 40 training: Building on the success of training sessions at past VPH conferences, key members of the ASME VVUQ40 subcommittee have given a four-hour training session on the V&V40-18 standard, ‘Assessing Credibility of Computational Models through Verification and Validation: Application to Medical Devices’. This event has proven once again to be crucial for the community. For those who were not able to attend, you can download the slides. Also, while this workshop was not recorded, you can watch the same talks that have been delivered as an In Silico UK event, for which recordings are available here.
- Many other interesting workshops: Hard to name them all, but a number of other high-quality technical workshops were organised bringing additional value to the attendees.
- Last but not to forget: the VPHi T-shirt giveaway and photo booth. Attendees were thrilled with the VPH t-shirt giveaway, with over 200 t-shirts distributed within just two days! This nice initiative helped to draw attendees to the VPHi booth, sparking conversations about the institute and its activities, while offering a tangible souvenir – a collector’s item for sure - for the community, together with the fun pictures taken at our photo booth!
Looking forward to VPH2026!
We extend a big thank you to the conference chairs - Prof. Oliver Röhrle and Tim Ricken - and the entire organizing committee from the University of Stuttgart – in particular Sina Schorndorfer – as well as all the speakers, mentors, and participants who contributed to making VPH2024 an exceptional experience!
The momentum built over those four days promises to carry forward to VPH2026, set to take place from 1 - 4 September 2026 at Politecnico di Milano. We are excited to continue shaping the future of in silico medicine together, advancing healthcare innovation and creating new opportunities for collaboration.
See you in Milan!
