Attire is business casual. Wear comfortable shoes and dress in layers.

Official Policy: ASHG aims to encourage presentation of the latest findings by protecting researchers sharing unpublished information and protecting patient privacy, as well as prevent disruption in the session rooms. To this end, attendees are strictly prohibited from taking photos, videos, or audio recordings of speakers presenting their slides. In addition, authors presenting especially sensitive information may wish to indicate on their slides that photos should not be taken, using an image file supplied by ASHG.

Attendees not adhering to this policy may be asked to leave the room and will be asked to delete all photos or videos already taken; additional action may be taken with repeated or egregious offenders. Attendees are also asked to be respectful of their colleagues by silencing all mobile devices before entering meeting rooms. When registering, you are required to agree that you will adhere to this policy.

Platform/Invited Session Slides: ASHG will set up a secure, slide-sharing website for speakers who wish to share their slides with fellow attendees. When uploading their slides for presentation, speakers will be asked to indicate whether or not their slides may be shared. Speakers should be sure to certify that they have the necessary permissions for all slide content.

Session Videos: ASHG will set up a secure website to share videos of certain sessions. Presenters at these sessions will be asked to indicate whether or not their session videos may be shared.

Poster Photo Policy: Attendees may take photos of posters if the poster author agrees. Authors who do not want their posters to be photographed will have to indicate as such on their posters, using an image file supplied by ASHG.

Official photographs will be taken at the ASHG Annual Meeting. By registering for this meeting, you agree to allow ASHG to use your photo in any ASHG-related publications, including the ASHG website.

ASHG allows children under the age of 18 into the Exhibit & Poster Hall and session rooms with the supervision of an adult who is a paid registrant. Children must be watched and accompanied by this adult at all times. As a courtesy to fellow attendees, we ask that you step out of the session room or Exhibit & Poster Hall if your child begins to be disruptive or noisy, which may interrupt a talk. Children under the age of 18 may not enter the Exhibit & Poster Hall outside of official, published hours, including during move-in and move-out. Note: ASHG offers official child care, where you can pay for babysitting services and activities, as well as a quiet family room at the convention center with private areas for nursing mothers. See Attendee Services for further details.

The American Society of Human Genetics is committed to fostering a welcoming environment that is safe, collaborative, and productive for supporting dialogue and discovery for all attendees at ASHG-sponsored events and values the participation of all attendees and participants in its events. All who register to participate, attend, speak at, or exhibit at an ASHG event agree to comply with this Policy.

ASHG expects that all attendees, media, speakers, organizers, staff, and exhibitors associated with any official ASHG-sponsored event will adhere to the following principles:

• Respect common-sense rules for public behavior, personal interaction, courtesy, and respect for private property.
• Be considerate and respectful of differing perspectives during the meeting.
• Respect the rules and policies of the Society, the meeting venue, hotels, and city.

ASHG also prohibits any form of harassment, sexual or otherwise. Accordingly, some behaviors are specifically prohibited, whether directed at other attendees, ASHG staff, speakers, exhibitors, or event venue staff:

• Intimidation, stalking, harassment, inappropriate physical contact, unwelcome sexual attention, or discrimination towards fellow attendees, Society staff, and others.
• Abusive, harassing, or threatening behavior towards any other attendee, volunteer, or staff. This behavior will not be tolerated and may result in expulsion from the event.
• Yelling at, threatening, or personally insulting participants or presenters (verbally or physically).

Participants asked to stop engaging in hostile or harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

The conduct rules apply to all ASHG venues, including official ASHG-sponsored events and related ASHG-sponsored social events, as well as the annual meeting and Society online presence (i.e., ASHG Society and meeting hashtags, Facebook pages, and other social media). All participants are expected to treat others with respect and consideration, follow venue rules, and alert staff or security of any dangerous situations, violations of this Conduct Policy, or of anyone in distress.

Violations of this Conduct Policy should be reported immediately. If you feel physically unsafe or believe a crime has been committed, you should report it to the police immediately.

To report a violation to ASHG:

• You may do so in person at the Annual Meeting at the Meetings Management Office, Location TBD, in the convention center.
• At any time (during or after the Annual Meeting), you can also make a report through ASHG’s dedicated website, which will collect and promptly relay information in a secure and sensitive manner. Policies and procedures for ASHG’s management of allegations are available below. As needed, staff may involve venue security or direct you to local law enforcement as appropriate based on the specific circumstances.

Event attendees and participants are expected to cooperate with any ASHG investigation into reports of a violation of this Conduct Policy by providing information requested by ASHG that is relevant to ASHG’s investigation.

At ASHG meetings and other events, participants often combine professional activities with social interaction with other participants, venue staff, and other attendees. While ASHG encourages such networking and strengthening of connections between participants, ASHG reserves the right to remove any participant whose social attentions become unwelcome to another and who persists in such attentions after their unwelcome nature has been communicated. ASHG also reserves the right to remove any participant or attendee who appears inebriated and who engages in conduct that interferes with the ability of other attendees to participate in and enjoy the meeting. ASHG may remove any individual from attendance or other participation in any ASHG-sponsored event without prior warning or refund. If ASHG, in its reasonable judgment, determines that an individual has violated this Conduct Policy, ASHG may also prohibit the individual from attending or participating in future ASHG events. ASHG will also report on the outcome of any investigation to individuals who have reported a violation of this Conduct Policy.

PROCEDURES: After an Incident is Reported

Allegations regarding misconduct by anyone attending or participating in the ASHG Annual Meeting are taken very seriously. These include but are not limited to all ASHG registrants, exhibitors, authors and vendors participating at the meeting. ASHG encourages prompt reporting of violations so immediate action can be taken to address the concern. Complaints may also be raised after the ASHG event has concluded, according to the following procedures.

• ASHG has partnered with an organization dedicated to confidential intake for allegations of misconduct. If you have such a report, please contact NAVEX Global Ethics Point by phone (via the toll-free hotline at 844-519-9731) or online. They will ensure full information is received in a considerate fashion and that ASHG has information necessary to take any further action. It will also ensure you have a record of the information you provided. Reports may not be submitted anonymously as that would preclude an adequate investigation. Depending on the nature of complaint, complete confidentiality cannot be guaranteed, but all complaints will be handled with discretion and with the aim of preserving confidentiality to the extent compatible with conducting an appropriate investigation.
• You may do so in person at the Annual Meeting at the Meetings Management Office, Location TBD, in the convention center.
• Once an allegation is received, the incident will be reviewed promptly by the ASHG Executive Director, Senior Director of Meetings, and members of ASHG’s advisory group on professional conduct, a subset of Board members. Note: if any of the above individuals were to be named in an allegation, they would be excluded from seeing the information.
• Based on this initial information, the complainant will be interviewed either in person or by telephone for support. The complainant will be asked to provide their views on what they would like to have happen next. Based on the sole assessment of the ASHG advisory group, the Society may determine a range of next steps.
• If the allegation is pursued, two ASHG representatives will raise the complaint with the alleged offender, who will be given a chance to respond. If facts are not in dispute, action will be taken by the ASHG Board based on its assessment of the level of misconduct.
  • In many cases, we hope that a conversation—including a request to understand the negative impact of the behavior and to cease the inappropriate behavior—will be sufficient. However, the Society reserves the right to take additional steps.
  • If the severity of the allegation is high, it is a possible repeat offense, or it is determined that the case is beyond ASHG’s capacity to assess claims and views on either side, ASHG may refer the case to the alleged offender’s home institution (Office of Research Integrity or similar), employer, licensing board, or law enforcement for their investigation and decision.
• If the conduct violates ASHG’s Policy, ASHG may expel the individual from membership in the Society.
  

Requests to use the ASHG Society and/or Annual Meeting logos will be handled on an individual basis. Please see our logo guidelines for additional information.

While we encourage the use of social media before, during, and after the ASHG Annual Meeting as a way to share information and network with other attendees, we remind you to adhere to ASHG’s social media do’s and don’ts:

Do:

• Follow ASHG on Twitter (@GeneticsSociety) and Instagram (@GeneticsSociety) and use the #ASHG19 meeting hashtag to join the conversation about the ASHG 2019 Annual Meeting.
• Like ASHG on Facebook at: facebook.com/GeneticsSociety.
• Join the ASHG group on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/American-Society-Human-Genetics-ASHG-142742.
• Join the ASHG Trainee Forum on Facebook. This forum is for trainee members only.
• Blog or tweet about what you hear and learn at the meeting, but refrain from sharing when the speaker explicitly asks not to share. Talks are tweetable and shareable by default, but speakers can ask that attendees don’t share specific details or slides.
• Converse and network with other attendees before, during, and after the conference.
• Attend the ASHG Tweetup.
• Provide feedback to ASHG staff and the Program Committee–we encourage attendees to post about and discuss topics of interest and ideas for future meetings.
• Communicate with respect and consideration for others, and keep criticism constructive.

Don’t:

• Capture, transmit, or redistribute data presented at the meeting–this may preclude its later publication in a scientific journal. Please adhere to journal embargo policies and do not jeopardize your colleagues’ work!
• Post copyrighted or trademarked material or material protected by other intellectual property rights.
• Use ASHG’s social media platforms to comment on medical, legal, or litigious matters.
• Post derogatory, demeaning, inflammatory, offensive, disrespectful, hateful, sales-oriented, or otherwise inappropriate comments.

People who participate in social media activity associated with the Annual Meeting are expected to:

• Maintain a courteous and respectful demeanor in their comments and posts.
• Contribute value and expertise.
• Represent themselves and their organizations truthfully and professionally.
• Recognize that social media conversations include genetics and non-genetics professionals, patients, policymakers, reporters, and the general public

The views and opinions posted on ASHG’s social media do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of ASHG, its Board, staff, or membership. ASHG reserves the right to remove comments it deems, in its sole discretion, to be inappropriate.