PAIS Summer School Program

Program Overview

Select a day and browse the full schedule for the PAIS Summer School, including lectures, discussions, networking activities, and career development sessions led by internationally recognised experts.

Tuesday August 25th

Theme 1: Research approaches in PAIS

In this morning session, our invited speakers will take you through the historical development of PAIS research and introduce a range of methodological approaches in the field. You will gain a clear understanding of their respective strengths, challenges, and limitations, providing a solid foundation for your own research.

9:00

40 min

Historical background on PAIS research

Prof. Jos van der Meer | Emeritus Professor and former Chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine
Radboud University Nijmengen

9:40

40 min

Cohort studies in PAIS

Kees van den Wijngaard | Senior Researcher at the Epidemiology Department
RIVM

10:20

20 min

Coffee break

10:40

40 min

Genetic research in PAIS

Cindy Boer | Assistant Professor at Deparment Internal Medicine, Genetic Laboratory
Erasmus Medical Center

11:20

40 min

Adaptive platform trials for PAIS

Janneke van de Wijgert | Professor of Epidemiology of Infectious and Immune-mediated Diseases
University Medical Center Utrecht

12:00

60 min

Lunch

Theme 2: Working effectively with patients, families, organizations and funders

How can patient participation strengthen the relevance, quality, and impact of your research? In this interactive session, you will learn why meaningful patient involvement matters, hear directly from patient experts about their experiences in research and co-creation, and explore practical tools for involving patients throughout the research process.

13:00

45 min

Invited speaker

Sophie Kemper | Patient Participation Advisor
INVOLV

13:45

45 min

Patient experiences and scientific research

What works and what does not. What makes participation valuable for both patients and researchers and we will talk about a pratical example of co-creation.

Sebastiaan Stam | Action Researcher and Advisor
Pluut & Partners

15:00

30 min

Framework and tools

You will learn to distinguish different forms of participation, define concrete actions for each phase (planning, implementation, adjustment, interpretation) and develop an initial idea. This will be supported by pratical examples, interactive methods and common pitfalls.

Sebastiaan Stam | Action Researcher and Advisor
Pluut & Partners

15:30

60 min

Interactive group assignment

Design a research approach that incorporates patient participation using a project canvas (idea, target group, phase, role, method, outcomes, risks). Both patients and organizers will support participants during this task.

Sebastiaan Stam | Action Researcher and Advisor
Pluut & Partners

16:30

60 min

Pitches and closing

The pitches will be evaluated by patients and P&P organizers based on meaningful participation, feasibilty and creativity. A price will be awarded to the best pitch.

Sebastiaan Stam | Action Researcher and Advisor
Pluut & Partners

Wednesday August 26th

Theme 3: Foundations and current challenges

8:30

45 min

A personal journey accross ME/CFS and Long COVID

Session description will follow soon.

Prof. Carmen Scheibenbogen | Professor of Immunology
Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin

9:15

45 min

Impaired energy metabolism in ME/CFS: molecular endotypes and mechanisms

Karl will briefly summarize how we came to work in ME/CFS research, and how this changed many aspects of our research activities and focus. Next, he will give an overview of what we have done and learned about impaired energy metabolism as a possible core disease mechanism underlying ME/CFS and possibly Long COVID symptoms. This will include omics profiling and patient stratification to uncover disease heterogeneity and potential therapeutic targets.

Karl Johan Tronstad | Professor at Department of Biomedicine
University of Bergen

10:00

45 min

Autonomic dysfunction, POTS and orthostatic intolerance across post-infectious syndromes

Session description will follow soon.

Satish Raj | Professor of Cardiac Sciences
University of Calgary

10:45

15 min

Coffee break

11:00

45 min

Clinical perspectives on Immune-related pathways in ME/CFS and post-viral fatigue

Session description will follow soon.

Eva Untersmayer | Medical Specialist in Immunology & Head of Gastrointestinal Immunology Research Group | Medical University of Vienna

11:45

45 min

From Long COVID phenotypes to mechanisms and trials

Session description will follow soon.

Michael Peluso | Associate Professor of Medicine
University of San Francisco

12:30

45 min

Methodological pitfalls and translational opportunities in Long COVID and PAIS research

Session description will follow soon.

David Putrino | Professor & Director of Rehabilitation Innovation
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

13:15

30 min

Lunch

Theme 4: Current challenges to the field: from personal thoughts to informed views

13:45

45 min

Interactive mentor roundtable with senior researchers

Continuing lunch.

15:00

Closing – Leave for 2026 Amsterdam ISLC-PAIS Conference opening