ERN RARE-LIVER ACADEMY 2026
“Paediatric Liver Diseases & Transplantation: A Paediatric Hepatology & Surgery Teaching Event”
The University Medical Center Groningen hosted the ERN RARE-LIVER ACADEMY 2026, bringing together 40 early-career clinicians from 29 centres across 15 countries for a two-day teaching event on rare paediatric liver diseases and transplantation.
Hosted by Ruben de Kleine and his team, the programme provided structured, interactive teaching in paediatric hepatology and liver surgery. Sessions covered key clinical areas including cholestatic liver diseases, metabolic liver disorders, paediatric liver tumours, complications after liver transplantation, and indications and techniques in paediatric liver surgery and transplantation.
The scientific programme combined plenary lectures with parallel medical and surgical tracks, allowing focused discussion on both hepatology and surgical perspectives. A dedicated interactive case session with multiple case presentations and group discussions enabled participants to apply clinical reasoning to complex scenarios. Further highlights included a debate on living versus post-mortem donation and a session on European collaborative tools and clinical networking in rare liver diseases.
Beyond the academic programme, the ACADEMY promoted close exchange between participants and faculty through structured discussions and networking activities, strengthening collaboration across European reference centres.
The event addressed specific educational needs in paediatric hepatology and transplantation and supported the training of the next generation of specialists in rare paediatric liver diseases.
For any questions regarding the ACADEMY 2026, please contact: ernacademy@chir.umcg.nl.
ERN RARE-LIVER Academy Team UMCG
Dr. Veerle Brenninkmeijer
Dr. Joyce-Manyi Bakia
Dr. Erik Loeffen
Dr. Willem Lexmond
Dr. Ruben de Kleine