Governing Board News

Driving Global Collaboration: A Landmark Milestone for the UR-CARE Platform

In this issue of ECCO News we are very happy to present an interview with Uri Kopylov, the new e-Learning Editor-in-Chief of ECCO. Uri has a long track record in ECCO, having been a member of both ClinCom and EduCom, the latter of which he chaired until 2025. He has been involved in IBD care and research for more than 15 years. He undertook his IBD fellowship at McGill University, Montreal, Canada and is currently clinical professor at Tel Aviv University and director of the IBD unit and the gastroenterology innovation lab at Sheba Medical Center.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is now evolving as a global condition with rising incidence across all regions of the world. We are attempting to gain a deeper understanding of this new global evolution of IBD, but in addition coordinated global efforts are needed to address disparities in care, access and implementation of best practices.As a well-established organisation with global membership, strong scientific leadership, educational programmes and widely recognised guidelines, ECCO is fully committed to contributing to this global initiative.

Professor Christian Maaser is the head of gastroenterology at the Lüneburg Ambulanzzentrum in Germany. He is a very experienced IBD specialist and has led many important studies in the field. He has been particularly active in developing the use of ultrasonography as a point of care test in the management of IBD patients. He is also the new Education Officer of ECCO, succeeding Gionata Fiorino. We are very honored and pleased to discuss with Christian his vision as Education Officer of ECCO.

Microscopic Colitis is an increasingly recognised cause of chronic watery diarrhoea, yet it remains frequently underdiagnosed. With growing research interest and improved awareness, the ECCO Microscopic Colitis Working Group (MCWG) is playing a central role in advancing the field. We spoke with Andreas Münch about the evolving landscape of microscopic colitis, current challenges and future priorities.

With ECCO’26, we are excited to launch a brand-new AI-based solution on the ECCO Congress platform—designed to make the congress experience clearer, more inclusive, and easier to follow for everyone.

Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet is Professor of Gastroenterology and an internationally recognised expert in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Between 2020 and 2023, he was President of the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation (ECCO) and Scientific Secretary of the International Organization for the Study of IBD (IOIBD), the two leading international organisations in IBD.

On 4 October, 2025, during the UEGW in Berlin, the Governing Board of ECCO met with representatives of the International Federation of Crohn's & Colitis Associations (IFCCA) and patient associations as well as with ECCO National Representatives from many countries across Europe. During this very stimulating and informative meeting, exchanges and brainstorming sessions were held on the main ECCO Projects and the expectations of National Representatives and patient representatives in these fields.

Dear ECCO Family and Friends, we would like to invite you to read the ECCO Code-of-Conduct, which summarises the correct compliance and transparency procedures that ECCO is already following for many years.

Dear ECCO Friends and Colleagues, with the festive break and end of year approaching rapidly, what better way to have our final ECCO News interview for 2024 than make it a celebratory one.

We are pleased to introduce you to ECCO’s new Scientific Officer, Marietta Iacucci. Marietta is Professor of Gastroenterology at University College Cork and Consultant Gastroenterologist MUH/CUH. Marietta has been a very active member at ECCO for many years and is a main pillar in the e-learning taskforce. She is a Key opinion leader in Endoscopy and future technology in the field of IBD.