INTRODUCTION
The International Liver Congress (ILC) 2019, the 54th annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), was held this year in Vienna, Austria, and was attended by 8,500 delegates from 117 countries.
The ILC 2019 attracted 2,500 abstract submissions, of which 70% were accepted by EASL’s expert panel of 150 reviewers for presentation within a state-of-the-art scientific programme, either orally or via posters. These abstracts were placed into six topic tracks, encompassing all the major areas within hepatology, to ensure the programme was tailored to the specific interests of each delegate. Thanks to the work of the Governing Board over the last few years we have seen an expansion of these six disciplines to deliver a comprehensive programme for all audiences.
The world of hepatology is changing and it is vital to recognise the multi-disciplinary nature of modern hepatology. As a specialty, EASL is forming new and important alliances with diabetes, obesity and oncology associations to enhance educational programming and clinical care. Public health research is also thriving and EASL is becoming increasingly active in driving policy
agendas.