From 19^th to 20^th February 2016, rare and undiagnosed diseases were illuminated from many different angles with a terrific selection of speakers at the first Symposium of the Vienna Center for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases (CeRUD).

In seven sessions, many important aspects of research, therapeutic options and international collaboration were covered. A rich and diverse poster session allowed insights into ongoing projects and the generous framework program provided an ideal occasion for exchange of the nearly 300 participants. On the previous day, William Gahl, Director of the Undiagnosed Diseases Program of the National Institute of Health (NIH), and Kaan Boztug, Director of CeRUD, double affiliate at CeMM and the Medical University of Vienna, and main organizer of this symposium hosted the 3^rd international rare and undiagnosed diseases meeting in an effort to foster worldwide collaboration and data exchange amongst researchers and clinicians.

One of the highlights of the symposium was the keynote lecture of William Gahl. He gave valuable insights in both, the research during the last eight years since the foundation of his program and the progress of the international collaboration network it promotes, with CeRUD as one of the prime drivers and coordinators of these collaborative activities outside of the US. He highlighted the importance of a standardized tool to find the genetic cause of observed phenotypes.

“The symposium was a wonderful opportunity to further tighten this network of experts, create synergies and improve the research and treatment of rare diseases”, says Kaan Boztug. We are certain that this first symposium of Vienna’s Center for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases was not the last one, and we thank the organizing committee, all speakers, participants and sponsors for their contributions.

CeRUD - Vienna Center for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases

The Vienna Center for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases has been established in 2014 through a joint initiative of the Medical University of Vienna and the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, to concentrate biomedical, genetic and technology resources and competencies to advance the rare disease research in Austria and interconnect with the international rare disease network required to provide the affected individuals with the best possible interdisciplinary diagnostic analysis and care.