Teratology Society 2019 Annual Meeting - Trainee Travel Awards and Speaker Travel

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The Teratology Society will hold its 59th Annual Meeting at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina, San Diego, California—June 22–26, 2019. The scientific program covers a wide-range of cutting-edge research in birth defects and disorders of developmental origin. The 2019 session topics include health disparities that increase maternal morbidity and mortality and successful strategies to reduce complications of childbirth, a review of choline supplementation to prevent or treat neurological disorders, advances in identifying teratogenic agents, the treatment and management of birth defects across the lifespan, and the effects of prenatal environmental exposures on the developing immune system. Other sessions will focus on the value of zebrafish in identifying mechanisms of teratogenesis, ocean-borne risks to pregnant women and their babies from aerosols and marine toxins to hurricane impacts, and the inclusion of pregnant women in clinical trials. The keynote address will provide early insights in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program. Meeting attendees historically come from diverse professional backgrounds including basic and clinical scientists from the academic, industrial, and government research sectors. The Teratology Society Annual Meeting provides a unique forum where basic, clinical, and epidemiologic researchers come together to share progress toward a common understanding of the causes and mechanisms of birth defects and developmental disorders, and to translate these discoveries into clinical practice. New to the 2019 meeting is a focus on innovation with a platform session devoted to finalists for the Society’s new Innovator Award. The Society strives to encourage, engage, and mentor students and new/early stage investigators (trainees), recognizing that its trainees represent the future of both the Society and the important scientific work necessary to fulfill its mission to understand and prevent birth defects. This work extends to recruiting and mentoring students from under-represented and under-served populations. The 2019 meeting recruitment will include extensive outreach to San Diego’s large Hispanic population. Specific events at the Annual Meeting encourage trainee participation, including a breakfast event where trainees are paired 1:1 with members for in depth discussion of research and career paths; a career night to introduce trainees to members from different disciplines; and a luncheon workshop highlighting professional development topics. Trainees are encouraged to present their research; eight to ten trainees are invited to compete for the prestigious Wilson presentation award in a special platform session, and all trainee poster presentations are judged for best poster presentation awards. Trainees are also encouraged to serve as ad hoc members on Society committees, thereby deepening their involvement within the Society. In this application, we are requesting funds to support Travel Awards for trainees to attend the 2019-2023 Annual Meetings, and to partially support travel expenses of key nonmember speakers who will help us educate and inspire these trainees.