ISOPS XI

Dear colleagues, dear friends,

I have the great pleasure and honour to invite you to the next ISOPS, which will be held in Slovenia from September 9-13, 2024, at the Bernardin Congress Centre between Portorož and Piran, on a short but beautiful part of the Slovenian Adriatic coast. Our eleventh meeting will be organized by the Department of Biodiversity of the Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies of the University of Primorska in Koper (Slovenia).

Finally, after 5 years, we will meet again to share our new achievements, results and visions related to the research of Phlebotomine sandflies, small hairy bugs so dear to us. Our colleagues, experts with many years of experience in the field of medical entomology, will guide us through a rich and interesting program in which we will include all aspects of research on Phlebotomine sandflies as well as the pathogens they transmit.

We will also award small prizes to our young colleagues for the best presentations and posters. You will have a great opportunity to socialize, share experiences and new ideas, recall memories from the joint field trips and plan new projects and collaborations.

You will also have the opportunity to enjoy the natural beauty of one of the smallest Alpine countries, where after a fun morning of skiing you can spend the afternoon on one of the sea beaches or beautiful glacier lakes. We will organize for you a visit to one of the most beautiful caves in Europe, which is on the list of the World Natural Heritage UNESCO, Škocjan Caves. You may also enjoy a walk through our picturesque capital Ljubljana, whose first foundations were laid by the first inhabitants more than 4000 years ago. Only 45 minutes from Ljubljana is the lovely alpine lake Bled, around which you can walk along the 6 km long promenade and then treat yourself to the famous Bled fresh cream cake.

In any case, I hope that no unforeseen circumstances will prevent us from organizing another ISOPS together and, above all, having a good time. See you soon 🙂

Yours respectfully, 

Vladimir Ivović, ISOPSXI Chairperson