ASHG’s Annual Meeting Goes Virtual: A Message from ASHG’s President

I am writing to announce today that the ASHG 2020 Annual Meeting, October 27-30, will be a fully virtual meeting. ASHG and the San Diego Convention Center have agreed to mutually terminate our contract in light of the unavailability of the Convention Center during our meeting dates due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although we regret that we cannot be together for our Annual Meeting this year in San Diego, a virtual ASHG meeting forum will allow us to safely reach and serve our community.

The ASHG 2020 Annual Meeting promises to be a terrific virtual meeting. The ASHG Program Committee, led by Chair Teri Manolio, MD, PhD, is planning four stimulating and full days of emerging science, packed with plenary sessions, platform sessions, posters, invited sessions, and other special events. Plenary and platform sessions will be announced in August. Meanwhile, you can access the current program and schedule, including an array of invited sessions. We look forward to hosting a meeting with the unmatched breadth and quality you have come to expect.

Registration will open July 29, when we will also announce reductions in our usual pricing structure for this year’s Annual Meeting. Participation will be more affordable, especially considering the lack of travel and lodging expenses. With meeting registration, attendees will receive access to continuing education credits, and additional days of career development programming and practical workshops in November. There will be 24-7 access to meeting content, which will be especially helpful for our very dynamic global community of scientists. All events will be available for a full year. The virtual format for the Annual Meeting now provides certainty for you and all ASHG members so that you can make your plans to attend.

Science is needed now more than ever, and genetics and genomics discoveries continue at a fast pace. Look for more information in coming weeks. Here are some details of the meeting that we can provide to you now:

• Save the dates of October 27-30 and plan to participate!
• Registration opens July 29, 2020
• ASHG 2020 will include:

• Abstracts are under review by the Program Committee and will be programmed into plenary, platform or poster sessions with the new format in mind. All accepted scientific abstracts will be published. Notifications of programming will be sent in early August.
• Housing reservations made through our official partner, onPeak, will automatically be cancelled. If you made a reservation through this system, you will receive a cancellation email. If you booked your own reservations, you must cancel directly.

Visit the ASHG 2020 meeting site for more information and answers to frequently asked questions.

See you online for another great ASHG Annual Meeting!

Sincerely,

Anthony Wynshaw-Boris, M.D., PhD
President, American Society of Human Genetics