Building the EASL Congress Scientific Programme

About

The EASL Congress scientific programme is developed through a structured, expert-led process designed to ensure scientific quality, relevance, independence and representation across the breadth of hepatology. It combines three main components: the invited scientific programme, original research selected through abstract submission, and sessions developed by EASL Committees and Task Forces. 

1. Designing the Scientific Programme

Scientific Committee oversight

The EASL Scientific Committee (SC) has overall responsibility for developing and overseeing the scientific programme of the EASL Congress. 

Programme development starts by identifying the scientific, clinical and educational priorities to be addressed. This is informed by: 

  • major scientific and clinical developments across hepatology; 
  • emerging research and unmet needs; 
  • previous EASL Congress programmes and abstract trends; 
  • topic proposals submitted through the EASL Congress survey and SCOPE; and 
  • targeted feedback from abstract presenters and faculty. 

Across the programme, EASL considers scientific expertise alongside gender, geographical, institutional and career-stage diversity. Faculty involvement is also reviewed across the programme to broaden participation and avoid unnecessary concentration of roles. 

Sessions are designed to allow meaningful scientific discussion, with approximately one third of the session dedicated to discussion and interaction where appropriate.

Developing scientific sessions

For Scientific Symposia, Do’s and Don’ts sessions and The Road Ahead sessions, the Scientific Committee first selects the topic and appoints two expert chairs. 

The chairs are then invited to develop a session proposal, including the individual presentations and proposed speakers. The Scientific Committee reviews the complete proposal before finalisation, considering the scientific content as well as balance and coherence across the overall EASL Congress programme. 

The EASL Congress also includes joint sessions developed in collaboration with external scientific associations and societies. For these sessions, EASL and the collaborating organisation each appoint a chair. The two chairs jointly develop the programme and propose the presentations and faculty, ensuring that the session reflects the expertise and perspectives of both organisations.

Experimental and Translational Science Seminar

The Experimental and Translational Science Seminar provides a dedicated forum for basic and translational science. 

The Scientific Committee selects an overarching topic and appoints three expert organisers. They develop four interconnected sessions covering different aspects of the theme, which are reviewed and approved by the Scientific Committee.

Postgraduate Course

The Postgraduate Course (PGC) follows a separate educational process led by the EASL Educational Committee. 

The Educational Committee selects the overarching topic and appoints three organisers and an Educational Committee coordinator. The programme is developed and reviewed by the Educational Committee before final approval by the EASL Governing Board. 

2. How abstracts are selected

Independent external review

Each eligible abstract is assessed independently by four external expert reviewers, who evaluate its scientific quality and provide a score from 1 to 20. 

Scientific Committee selection

Following external review, the Scientific Committee considers the assessments and scores and makes the final decision on: 

acceptance or rejection → oral or poster presentation 

The highest-quality abstracts may be selected for oral presentation in dedicated abstract sessions or General Sessions. 

This two-stage process combines independent external scientific review with expert programme-level selection by the Scientific Committee. 

Poster Tours

A further selection takes place among abstracts accepted as posters. 

For each relevant topic, an expert Poster Tour chair reviews the accepted posters and selects a limited number for inclusion in a Poster Tour. 

3. Programme contributions from EASL groups

The EASL Congress programme also draws on the expertise of EASL Committees, Task Forces and other dedicated EASL groups. These groups develop sessions or contribute their specialist expertise to specific parts of the programme.

Depending on the programme, contributions include: 

 

  • AI Task Force: develops a dedicated symposium; 
  • Basic Science Task Force: provides suggestions and input to the Scientific Committee during programme development; 
  • EASL Studio: developed by a dedicated EASL editorial board; 
  • Educational Committee: in addition to the PGC, develops educational symposia, the Genetic Grand Round and the Molecular Tumour Board; 
  • Journal of Hepatology and JHEP Reports: contribute dedicated sessions to the programme; 
  • Nurses and Allied Health Professionals Task Force: develops the Interprofessional Forum; 
  • Pharmacy Task Force: develops a dedicated symposium; 
  • Policy and Public Health Committee: develops dedicated symposia and Meet-the-Experts sessions; and 
  • Young Investigators Task Force: develops the Young Investigators Seminar and workshops. 

These groups propose topics, formats, presentations and relevant experts. Their contributions are coordinated within the overall EASL Congress programme, with Scientific Committee oversight where applicable, to ensure scientific relevance, coherence and avoid unnecessary duplication. 

A collaborative scientific programme

The EASL Congress programme therefore brings together Scientific Committee oversight, independent abstract review, educational expertise, external scientific collaborations and contributions from EASL’s specialist groups. 

This multi-layered process is designed to ensure that the programme reflects the latest science, the needs and feedback of the liver community, and a broad and diverse range of expertise.