Ehlers-Danlos Society Offers Scholarships for Summer Conference, Events

The Ehlers-Danlos Society has several scholarship grants available for those who wish to attend its Virtual Summer Conference 2021, or the accompanying series of one-day meetings, and without aid may not be able to do so.

The conference is set for June 26–27, and the five single-day events covering a variety of topics of relevance to Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) run from April through November.

According to a society press release, scholarship candidates must apply before Feb. 25, 2021. The organization will notify applicants of its decision by March 25.

The scholarship application requires information including household income. Candidates must also explain why they want a scholarship, and what a grant would mean to them. Information given will be used solely to determine grant eligibility, and will be maintained by the society for five years.

Grantees will have full access to the live events, and later to recordings of the events.

Tickets for the Summer Conference are $100, and $275 for the conference and individual events package. For healthcare professionals, the cost is $150 for the conference and $500 if single-day events are included.

The conference will take place online both days from 8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. EST via Zoom Webinar; internet access for participants is essential. The conference will feature experts in EDS, hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD), and related conditions, along with up-to-date information about the disorders. The conference agenda will be announced soon.

The entire EDS community, including parents, families, caregivers, and healthcare professionals are invited to attend. Presentations will be in English, but live translations will be offered in French, Hindi, Spanish, and Portuguese.

“Making our conferences and resources more accessible worldwide is a long-term goal that we have to continue spreading awareness, and we hope to be able to offer an even larger range of translation services at future conferences,” the society states on the conference’s webpage.

The series of individual single-day virtual meetings will cover these topics: pain, on April 25; rarer types, May 29; vascular EDS, July 31; neurology, Sept. 26; and allergy/immunology on Nov. 21.

Those selected for a scholarship but unable to attend are asked to notify the organization within a week of grant acceptance, so that someone else may benefit from the scholarship.

According to the society, the grants are possible thanks to the generosity of donors. For more information, send an email to [email protected].

More information about virtual events planned for 2021 by the Ehlers-Danlos Society can be found here.