My warmest greetings to you all. In the last few years the IAP-ID has been attracting an ever increasing number of new members, a very happy and satisfying trend. I extend a very warm welcome to the 36 new members who have joined the IAP-ID this year and look forwards to their active participation and contribution to the activities of the Division.

The first academic programme of the IAP-ID for the year 2005, the Mid Year Teaching Programme, was held on 17th April 2005 at the Army Hospital (Research & Referral), New Delhi, and was a Workshop on Molecular Pathology. This workshop was a huge success and the delegates found it extremely fruitful and interesting. On behalf of the IAP-ID, I express our gratitude and thanks to Col. Gurvinder S. Chopra, the Organizing Secretary, and all his team for having organized and conducted the excellent Workshop.

At the same Programme, the IAP-ID was presented a cheque for Rs. 70,000 on behalf of the Organizing Committee, APCON 2004, Department of Pathology, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune. On behalf of the IAP-ID I express our deepest gratitude and thanks once again to Lt. Gen. J. R. Bhardwaj (Patron), Col. S. K. Nema (Organizing Secretary), Col. S. Satyanarayana & Col. Anurag Mehta (Joint Organizing Secretaries), Lt. Col. S. Bhattacharya (Treasurer) and all the other members of the Organizing Committee of APCON 2004 for the very generous contribution to the IAP-ID.

Our thanks are also due to Dr. John Marshall Johnson, Bangalore, for having started a new website for the IAP-ID, namely, www.iapid.org. The website is being maintained by Dr. Johnson and is very attractive and user friendly and informative and I urge you all to visit this site. Dr. Johnson too had earlier started and maintained for the past several years the previous website of the IAP-ID for which the IAP-ID is indeed grateful.

Coming up on the 12th and 13th August 2005 is the IAP-ID 8th Annual CME on the very interesting topic of Current Perspectives on Tumour & Tumour like Lesions of the Bone being organized at the St. Johns Medical College, Bangalore, by Dr. Usha Kini. The CME has an eminent of both international and national experts and promises to be an extremely enrichening experience. The IAP-ID Annual Meeting will be on the 30th November 2005 at Indore, the Organizing Secretary being Dr. G. P. Bhagwat. The scientific programme includes a Guest Lecture by the invited foreign speaker Dr. Runjan Chetty from Toronto, Canada; a Slide Seminar on Orbital Lesions to be moderated by Dr. K. S. Ratnakar, Hyderabad; and, a Symposium on Placental Pathology moderated by Dr. Rama Gopalan, Chennai. I invite you all to attend both these meetings in large numbers and actively participate in them. I look forwards to meeting you in Bangalore and Indore.

Before I end, I earnestly appeal to all the members who have not yet paid their membership fees for this year, or are in arrears, to kindly pay their dues immediately.

I end by sending my warmest good wishes to you and your families.

Dr. Francisco Couto

Secretariat:
Secretary & Treasurer, IAP-ID
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