The Nikolas Symposium
Each year, a steering committee composed of leading professionals proposes a particular scientific topic of relevance to the diseases to be discussed that year. The committee invites prominent experts to attend the Symposium, fostering a lively and informative debate over a three-day period.
The 30th Annual Nikolas Symposium was held from May 12th until the 15th, 2022 at Divani Apollon Palace & Thalasso and focused on Neurodegeneration in LCH.
To learn more about the symposium, its scientists and members, and it’s impact on LCH research around the world, please visit our website!
Who is Nikolas?
In 1981 Nikolas Kontoyannis was barely four weeks old when he was rushed to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London with inexplicable skin rashes over his entire body and inside his mouth, secreting fluid. He was treated with topical mustard gas for this but his condition was deemed critical. Nikolas was put under the direct care of Dr. Jon Pritchard, a pediatric oncologist, who became his primary doctor.
The diagnosis: Histiocytosis X
The prognosis: Slim chances of survival
At the time, little was known about the disease and its pathological structure was difficult to discern. When he was less than a year old, Nikolas underwent a painful mouth curettage as a direct consequence of the disease, causing deformities in the mouth. There followed an uncertain period that would disrupt Nikolas’ upbringing and life in his formative years and beyond.
Research Funding
Pioneering discoveries are made possible by creative thinkers, intrepid researchers, and dedicated doctors and scientists. Such committed individuals from all over the world have honored the Symposia with their contributions. Nikolas Symposium further supports the examination of Histiocytic disorders by funding research initiatives together with Histio UK and the Artemis Association.
As published in Nature magazine, the Nikolas Symposium has made decisive contributions to LCH research on multiple occasions. Highlights include:
2005: contributed to a £150,000 fund to support a major three year research project at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, led by Professor Hans Acha-Orbea. The project’s aim was to identify genes that are switched on when normal dendritic cells become tumors.
2009: supported a £220,954 grant to fund a ground-breaking project at the Institute of Child Health at University College London. The project investigated how to introduce a normal Perforin gene – the gene most commonly affected in inherited HLH – into white blood cells.
2012: committed funds to a collaborative project of £327,000 at the Center for Molecular and Cellular Biology of Inflammation, Kings College London and the Institute of Cellular Medicine, Newcastle, led by Prof. Frederic Geissmann and Prof. Matthew Collin.