Working Group For Quality Control:
- Jordina Belmonte (Chairperson)
The Working Group for Quality Control (QC) is responsible for setting standards to ensure representativeness and reproducibility of the methods used in routine aerobiological monitoring. In response to the emergence of new technologies for real-time pollen observations, the QC working group will support activities aiming to homogenise manual and automatic measurements.
Working Group For European Legislation :
- Carsten Skoth (Chairperson)
The EAS Working Group for European Legislation follows the evolution of different national legislation on biological air quality and allergies. The working group is in contact with the EFA (European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patient’s Associations) regarding pollen and fungal spore allergies. The EFA and EAS jointly organised an event for the European Parliamentary interest group on “Asthma and allergy” on 5 July 2023 in the context of promoting mandatory monitoring of allergenic pollen and fungal spores.
Working Group For Aerobiological Databases :
- Fiona Tummon, Branko Sikoparija, and Carsten Skoth (Chairpersons)
The Working Group for Aerobiological Databases aims to ensure that all European aerobiological data are stored in databases that are safe and secured in the long-term. The working group makes efforts to rescue historical data and works together with the working group on QC to develop homogenisation methods.
Working Group For Education :
- Nicolas Bruffaerts (Chairperson)
The EAS Working Group for Education is responsible for organising the biennial European Course on Aerobiology. This is an interdisciplinary course that aims to teach technicians and students about a wide range topics, including the fundamentals of monitoring techniques, comparison techniques, and data use in different applications, such as allergology, modelling, and forecasting. Participants acquire knowledge about the science and application of aerobiology, techniques used for sample preparation and analysis, as well as expertise in identifying pollen and fungal spores using light microscopy.
The WG also helps organise the Advanced Aerobiology Courses established by the International Association for Aerobiology. These courses deal with more specialised aspects of aerobiology and are aimed at those who already have technical knowledge of aerobiology. Finally, the WG supports the publication of teaching material used in aerobiology courses.
Working Group For the European Symposium :
- Helena Ribeiro (Chairperson)
The Working Group for the European Symposium focuses on the organisation of the next European Symposium for Aerobiology (ESA), which are held every 4 years. The last ESA took place in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July 2024, and the next symposium will be hosted in Porto, Portugal, in 2028.
The specifications for organising the European Symposium on Aerobiology can be found in this document: ESA-specifications
Interested people, associations or societies are welcome to join us! Be at the forefront of the development of aerobiology in Europe. We count on all of your participation! To become a member of the EAS, please click on the following link: EAS membership
For any update about working groups, EAS members can have a look at the minutes of the EAS board meetings on the intranet page.