Dr. Rafael Simó, head of the research group on http://en.vhir.org/web_vhir/portal1/grup-equip.asp?s=recerca&contentid=186789 Diabetes and Metabolism of VHIR has been recently named President at the https://www.easdec.org/pages/ EASDec, the study group for the ocular complications in diabetes, within the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). It is the first time that a researcher from Spain becomes the president of this international group of reference.EASDec was created in 1990 with the goal to promote knowledge in every field of the hepatic retinopathy, including its epidemiology, physiopathology, and the basic research and new treatments generated through the collaboration among ophthalmologists and diabetologists.During the last congress, hosted in Belfast, Dr. Simó was named President of EASDec for the next 3 years, which he faces with illusion and will to achieve several goals, such as to increase the members of the group by increasing especially the amount of diabetologists and basic researchers, to incorporate youth talent in other specialties but interested in diabetic retinopathy, to create scholarships through commercial agreements to promote congress assistance and professional exchange among the different research groups that belong to EASDec, etc.Basically, "it is a very important professional and personal recognition, but also a new stage full of challenges", confessed Dr. Simó.Another important challenge will be to organize the EASDec conference in Barcelona in 2020, during his presidency.