Meeting Information
Invitation from the President
I am pleased to invite you to attend the 59th Annual Meeting of the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention, June 22–26, 2019, at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina, in San Diego, California. The theme for this year’s meeting is “Sea Changes in Birth Defects Research and Prevention.” The Program Committee, chaired by Christine Perdan Curran, has put together an outstanding program around this theme. The program offers an exciting variety of scientific sessions on topics including:
- Choline supplementation to prevent neurodevelopment disorders
- Effective strategies to reduce maternal mortality
- Ocean-borne risks to the developing brain
- Establishing confidence in alternative test methods
- Improving thyroid hormone assessments
- Environmental exposures and the developing immune system
- Mechanistic insights from zebrafish
- Integrating animal and human data for drug testing
- Birth defects outcomes across the lifespan
- Differences in sex development
- Innovator award, Trainee awards, Professional development workshops
The Education Committee, chaired by Amy Lavin Williams, has developed two exciting Education Courses entitled The Embryology and Teratology of the Reproductive System, and The Principles of Teratology. In addition, the Education Committee has organized a Lunch and Learn Mini Course on Adverse Outcome Pathways that will provide examples of how molecular screening and toxicogenomics can be used to understand mechanisms of birth defects and to improve regulatory oversight of potential teratogens.
Once again, we are pleased to offer joint sessions and a joint registration fee to maximize interactions with our sister societies the Developmental Neurotoxicology Society (DNTS) and the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists (OTIS). Concurrent meetings allow for joint sessions on topics of common interest, and the opportunity for networking between attendees, enriching the exchange of scientific ideas for all participants.
To make this Annual Meeting truly excellent, WE NEED YOU to present your latest research findings! The abstract deadline is Friday, February 15, 2019. Plan now to submit an abstract of your work!
Our Annual Meeting provides us with the opportunity to promote our shared vision and scientific identity as researchers focused on the causes, manifestations, intervention, and prevention of birth defects, both structural and functional. It is also a celebration of our scientific diversity, as a Society of clinicians, scientists, and science policy regulators from academic, industrial, and government sectors, and an opportunity to bring a truly multidisciplinary perspective to important and emerging scientific issues. There is no better occasion to learn about the latest scientific research in teratology, to interact with scientists whom you have not yet met, and to network with old friends and colleagues. I look forward to seeing you in San Diego and hearing about your latest activities!
