Dear Colleagues, dear Friends,
The 2025 session of the ABC WIN meeting was once again a resounding success, bringing together approximately 500 participants from around the globe at the Centre Henri Oreiller in Val d’Isère this past January. We sincerely thank all attendees for their continued dedication, loyalty, and keen interest in this distinctive event, which remains widely regarded for its unique format and outstanding scientific content.
So, be ready now for the ABC WIN sessions that we prepare for January 18-23, 2026, during which we will keep the usual frame of the Val d’Isère meeting:
Sunday January 18, 2026: the now classical and well attended ABC session will be dedicated to the study of "the dura mater" from both anatomical and pathological aspects. Distinguished international renowned speakers will share with us their experience and will enrich our knowledge about that important anatomical structure that can be the cradle of several pathologies.
From Monday January 19 to Friday January 23, 2026: usual WIN sessions dedicated to the free discussions of abstracts that have been submitted. Please have a look at the website to be familiar with the course of the various sessions.
Be aware that your abstract will be presented only within the dedicated session to which its belongs, in order to allow a harmonious development of the meeting. Thank you for your understanding about this matter.
You are also cordially invited to the friendly dinner that will be held Tuesday January 20, 2026. More information will be shared with you later on.
Do not hesitate to consult regularly our website. You will find all details concerning the registrations, hotels, and abstracts.
Please consider to send the abstracts of the topics you would like to present far in advance as noted on the website: this allows us to prepare properly the various sessions of the WIN and respect the free discussions that we all expect to arise.
We sincerely hope that you will look forward to come back to Val d’Isère in 2026 and participating to more thrilling sessions!
Stay safe in the meantime and once again thank you for your faithfulness!
Serge Bracard - Georges Rodesch - René Anxionnat - Arturo Consoli
ABC WIN 2001: The 20th Anniversary
Created in 1980 in Santa Barbara (California), WIN then met in Park City in 1981, and from 1982 in Val d’Isère (with a one-year interruption in 1984). Since then, WIN has regularly held its meetings in Val d’Isère each year, so that WIN 2001 marked the 20th anniversary of WIN, while simultaneously being the 10th ABC seminar.
On this occasion, it was decided to celebrate WIN’s 20th anniversary by honoring the Founding Members, all of whom were invited to participate in the congress and give a talk on a subject of their choice. Those considered as founding members were those who attended one or more of the first three WIN meetings: Santa Barbara in 1980, Park City in 1981, and Val d’Isère in 1982.
Among the founding members, whose names appear below, the following were present in Val d’Isère in January 2001: Bill BANK, Alex BERENSTEIN, Ken DAVIS, Charles KERBER, Axel de KERSAINT GILLY, Pierre LASJAUNIAS, Jacques MORET, Luc PICARD, and Jacques THERON.
The 20th WIN was organized according to the usual rules — that is, under the banner of “totally organized apparent disorganization”: no predefined program, no time restrictions for speaking, and space left for spontaneous and free-flowing discussion — possibly even interruption — around a circle to discuss the most sensitive topics. This meeting brought together around 380 participants, including 87 first-time attendees. It stood out for the exceptional quality of the presentations, the originality of the topics discussed, and the freedom with which ideas were expressed — often fueled by intense moments of reflection, such as when interventional neuroradiology stress was spontaneously discussed across different contexts, without any prior arrangement. All of which attests to a certain professional maturity that our specialty has reached.
Among the talks given by the founding members: Charles KERBER discussed vascular flow systems, Axel de Kersaint GILLY spoke of his adventures among icebergs, Jacques THERON of Biomorphology, Pierre Lasjaunias of Afghan jewelry, and Luc PICARD of the history of WIN. That Wednesday, the “festive” aspect reached a climax around a fireworks display that launched the evening, followed by a memorable karaoke and dance party — a spontaneous celebration of shared joy.
André FORFERT, a sculptor from Lorraine and a friend of Luc PICARD, made a major contribution to this 20th anniversary by creating, as he does every year, an original medal, and also by sculpting the WIN tree, a miniature of a sculpture now located in the Neuroradiology Department of Nancy, which was gifted to all the founding members.
It is this society…!!!!!! that took part in this congress, in a friendly atmosphere — by definition, different from that of traditional conferences. The spirit of freedom and independence, the thirst for truth of WIN and ABC remain intact – and we must do everything to keep it that way! This is the guiding principle for the WIN meetings in the coming years.
Professor Luc PICARD
List of WIN Founding Members
