News

• New IDSA aspergillosis guidelines endorse galactomannan for diagnosis (July 20, 2016).
  

• Blood Aspergillus RNA a promising biomarker for invasive aspergillosis (July 17, 2016). 

• Clinical Alert to U.S. Healthcare Facilities (June 2016)
• Think like a doctor: The boy with nighttime fevers solved! (August 2016)

Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE- The Establishment of the MSGERC 

Birmingham, Alabama. July, 2014. The Mycoses Study Group Central Unit is pleased to announce the establishment of the Mycoses Study Group Education & Research Consortium (MSGERC) as a non-profit, 501c3 charitable organization.

The MSGERC was established in late 2013 to continue the MSG’s collective mission as thought leaders in mycology and is representative of over 160 physicians and scientists from leading national and international universities.

In the new era of clinical research, the MSGERC will continue to champion evidence-based diagnoses, prophylaxis, treatment, and management of Invasive Fungal Infections (IFIs) through its tripartite mission:

• Education: Championing excellence and innovation in the development and delivery of evidence-based medical knowledge in invasive fungal disease management for patients globally.
  Research Translational thought leadership for the development of diagnostics and medicinal antifungals for invasive fungal infections.
  Scholarship: Scholarly work among academic centers and professional organizations to promote antifungal stewardship, investigational outbreak tracking, implementation science, publications, and leadership.

To learn more about the goals and offerings of the MSGERC, please visit the newly launched MSGERC site, www.msgerc.org.

The benefit of the establishment of the MSGERC to antifungal education, the organizational change and increased focus on education has already led to an expansion of educational programming and greater involvement of MSGERC Education Committee members in setting the educational agenda.

According to Peter Pappas, MD, Director of the MSGERC,

“I am so pleased with the strides the MSGERC has made recently. With the establishment of the MSG ERC as a non-profit organization, the development of the first exclusive MSG website (msgerc.org), and our continued success in education programming, we are gaining significant momentum as an organization. We are also pleased to see great attendance at our international CME events as well as increased traffic to our dedicated CME site, http://www.funguscme.org/. I look forward to the continued expansion of our educational efforts in terms of innovative educational designs, increased audience reach, and high-level outcomes evaluations. I thank Carolynn Thomas Jones, DNP, MSPH, RN, for her invaluable help in getting the non-profit established and working; Dr. Lisa Tushla and Mr. Tom Davis at Terranova; Lois Colburn at UNMC CCE for all of their efforts in moving this educational collaboration forward; and the Education Committee of the MSG ERC, particularly Chairs Drs. John Baddley and G.R. Thompson, for their leadership in fungal education. We also thank our commercial supporters, who have provided the continued financial support that makes all this wonderful programming possible.”

ABOUT THE MSG EDUCATIONAL COMMITTEE

The MSGERC Education Committee is a group within the MSGERC dedicated to education in the area of mycoses. The educational committee includes 21 MSGERC members from across with teaching expertise and an expressed interest in antifungal education. This committee’s mission is to set the educational agenda for mycology and provide top-quality continuing education initiatives to MSGERC member institutions and other institutions throughout the United States and worldwide. Currently, the MSGERC educational committee is under the leadership of US Co-chairs, John Baddley, MD, of UAB Medical Center, and George Thompson, MD, of UC Davis School of Medicine.

ABOUT TERRANOVA MEDICA, LLC

Terranova Medica is a medical education company that combines a strong heritage in medical communications with a passion for innovation, to achieve one goal—improved patient outcomes. Led by Lisa Tushla, PhD, H(ASCP), the organization specializes in interactive/e-learning, with a concentration on hematology/oncology and anti-infectives. For more information, visit www.terranovamedica.com.

About the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Center for Continuing Education

The UNMC Center for Continuing Education is one of this country’s oldest accredited providers of continuing education to physicians and is accredited by the ACCME. The Center offers a broad range of programming ranging from primary care issues to the latest developments in oncology and draws attendees from throughout the region, nation and internationally. UNMC-CCE sponsors nearly 300 activities annually that reach approximately 22,000 healthcare providers. Through its outreach program to rural communities, UNMC-CCE brings the latest medical knowledge to healthcare practitioners in Nebraska and the surrounding states.

What People Are Saying About the MSG-ERC

According to John Perfect, MD, James B. Duke Professor of Medicine, Chief of Infectious Diseases and Director of the Mycology Research Unit at Duke University:

“The MSG for many years has been the critical organization to shape medical mycology. It has led in the evaluation of new therapies and many, many patients are reaping the benefits of its collaborative studies created and completed by this group. It is important to note that the MSG not only evaluates the medical mycology landscape and its antifungals, it has made a commitment to teach the next generation from the insights gained by the studies and its members. This group of largely volunteer experts has met the challenge of the advancing epidemic of invasive mycoses in the world today.”

Jack Sobel, MD, Professor and Chief of Infectious Diseases at Wayne State University School of Medicine, further states:

“This new transition of the MSGERC represents a new chapter in clinical and research mycology and will provide the impetus to a new operational structure ensuring the leadership role of the MSG in North America. New blood/fuel in pushing mycology ahead…just what we need!”

John R. Wingard, MD, Professor of Medicine, Price Eminent Scholar, Director of Bone Marrow Transplant Program at the University of Florida Health Sciences Center and Deputy Director for Research at UF Health Cancer Center states:

“Over the years, the MSG has had an important, even indispensable role in the conduct of antifungal therapy trials that have resulted in important advances in management of fungal infections and defined our ever changing practice standards. It has continued in this role and in the past several years has expanded its role to offer education to infectious disease specialists and oncology and transplant professionals.”

Haran T. Schlamm, MD, previously with Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and current Vice President, Clinical Science and Medical Affairs at K2 Therpeutics and HTS Pharma Consulting emphasized:

“Working with the MSG on the combination treatment of aspergillosis study enabled us to conduct the study at more regions and sites than we would have otherwise. Also, the MSG provided valuable support during the publication authorship discussions”.

According to Carolynn Thomas Jones, DNP, MSPH, RN, Assistant Professor of Clinical Nursing at The Ohio State University and Consulting Executive Director of the MSGERC:

“I had the opportunity to work with the original leader of the MSG, Dr. William E. Dismukes who advanced mycology through the efficient, quality development of new antifungal drugs. National and international expert academic investigators emerged through the clinical trial work of the MSG and today the leadership mission is broadened by Dr. Peter Pappas who has tirelessly brought the MSGERC to this new chapter. For over 3 decades, the MSG has made pivotal public health contributions in evidence-based diagnosis and treatment of adult and pediatric patients who have normal or compromised immune systems. The MSG was at the forefront of the HIV epidemic, as fungal infections were claiming lives as AIDS-defining opportunistic infections and as it claimed the lives of transplant recipients. Furthermore, this group of experts began working with CDC and molecular biologists to explore risk and host factors and improved diagnostics for rapid detection and early treatment. This group knows fungal disease and I’m pleased to have the opportunity to work with these fine physicians, pharmacists and scientists again!”