Celebrating 40 Years of ISPE

Celebrating 40 years of ISPE

Did you know that the first five ISPE (formerly known as ICPE) meetings were held in Minneapolis, Minnesota (United States), and it was at the fifth meeting that the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology was officially launched by Stanley Edlavitch, David Lilienfeld, and Hugh Tilson? 

History matters because it is the laboratory of human experience. Data from our past provides an extensive evidence-base to help inform our present and our future. Without history, how would we:

• Be able to train the next generation of pharmacoepidemiologists on avoidable sources of bias in study design, such as immortal time bias and selection bias?
• Develop and test new methodologies to apply to the design and analysis of real-world studies to further improve quality and decision-making from real-world safety and effectiveness studies? 
• Enjoy reminiscing with our pharmacoepidemiology colleagues at each ISPE annual meeting? 
• Know when it’s time to bring back skinny or wide-leg jeans! 

This year marks the 40^th anniversary of our meeting and we look forward to another great meeting of the only international society that specifically focuses on pharmacoepidemiology.

The Archives and History Committee has planned activities and acknowledgements to commemorate this milestone at 40^th ISPE in Berlin, which will include: 

• Small stickers at registration for attendees to fill in and attach to their badges, showing details of your 1^st ISPE (location, year, or whatever – have fun with it).
• A scrolling slide deck that will display on screens in meeting rooms between sessions, highlighting fun facts, pictures, achievements, etc. of ISPE and ICPE over the years.
• Honoring and introducing ISPE past presidents with a group photo of all past ISPE presidents in attendance.
• A display of videos of interviews with ICPE pioneers.

Regardless of whether you’ll be in Berlin, all are welcome to participate in the Archives and History Committee. The mission of the Archives and History Committee is to identify, codify, and preserve to archival standard, materials and artifacts of historical importance for ISPE, and to compile, document, and advance understanding and appreciation of materials which portray the history of ISPE and the field of Pharmacoepidemiology. 

How to get involved? Find more information about the Archives and History Committee on the ISPE Committees website link. Here you can learn who the current members are and reach out, or, you can join directly. If you're planning to attend ISPE in Berlin, join us for lunch on Monday, August 26 (all members are welcome to join Committee lunch meetings).