Dear AAPS members–
In my experience it is usually not a good thing when you leave your desk for a few moments, and as soon as you return with a fresh cup of coffee, there are 50+ new email messages. This week this happened to me several times in two days-but I was delighted by my overflowing inbox! Why? Because these messages were notifications from our AAPS Communities platform informing me of new discussion posts in the "Ask me Anything" (or "AMA" in AAPS parlance) sessions of our Drug Transporters The energy in these discussions was palpable in my email, as it was during the webinars conducted across the entire 2-day event. We had more than 120 registrants in all sessions, topping out at close to 150 total. Participants viewed the poster presentations and sat-in on a Chalk Talk in the virtual exhibit hall. I am grateful that the planning committee, which put so much work into developing this program, and then into re-structuring it for an online event, trusted us at AAPS to whisk it into the virtual world with very short notice.
The success of AAPS' virtual workshop debut has inspired me and the staff to think about other programs we can offer you in the future-and based on the emails I am receiving, other members are thinking about it, too! Stay tuned for more opportunities to meet with other scientists online and participate in the kind of discussions we all need to keep pharmaceutical research moving.
Speaking of urgently relevant science content, we sharpened our focus on COVID-19 this week with a compelling eChalk Talk by Dr. Stephanie Pasas-Farmer from Ariadne on the challenges of COVID-19 testing. From ambiguities in regulatory requirements and lack of control reagents, to the fact that tests currently used in the U.S. are not validated, it was, in the end, not shocking to hear that false positives and negative results are found in 15 to 30% (!) of tests. I have many more questions now, and I'm looking forward to a session that is entirely dedicated to testing during our COVID-19 - Current Pharmaceutical Developments for Cures and Prevention workshop next week.
I'm still accepting questions from members to ask Dr. Bill Haseltine on Monday when he starts the event with a fireside chat-just send them to meetings@aaps.org. I'll take questions until Monday morning!
In addition to the testing session already mentioned, the workshop will cover regulatory aspects, including an up-to-the-minute case study from a vaccine developer, and delve further into the different therapeutic and preventive approaches that could help conquer this challenging disease. You can still register at www.aaps.org. The entire event is FREE for members because we need to talk about COVID-19 and our response to it. (Yes, if you're not a member, you can become one and attend this event. Just visit www.aaps.org/join)
Rounding out a very science-focused week for me, I was excited to participate in the PharmSci 360 Scientific Programming Committee's discussions about the 250+ proposals they received. The committee is under great leadership-@Saileta Prabhu (chair), @Mark Arnold (vice chair) and @John Morrison (past chair) are heading up an impressive group. Their drive to develop a scientific program that will excite you is highly energetic-I truly enjoyed their 6 hours of meetings they held this week. I am also grateful to you for your proposals. The programming discussions started from a foundation of very strong ideas!
I am also pleased to tell you that there's more time, and an easier path, for poster abstract submissions this year. The Board of Directors understands that many scientists are unable to conduct the research right now that is usually showcased in posters at PharmSci 360. They, and I, also believe that the scientific conversation we have at this event is especially vital this year. They have extended the abstract submission deadline to May 21 at 5 pm ET, and they have for this year waived a long-standing requirement that abstracts include data at the time of submission. We are going to hold an event this October, and we are going to ensure that scientists around the world can participate regardless of the limitations COVID-19 brings us. I urge you to submit your abstract-even if it's a plan for research you will conduct later-right now. You can withdraw an abstract at any time before the meeting. Give yourself a chance to share your research in the fall, and trust that the Board of Directors and staff will provide you a way to present your research when the time comes.
In closing I would be remiss not to mention that it is Volunteer Appreciation Week, so all I can say is Thank You! for all you do for AAPS all year-and not just this week!
Have a great weekend and stay healthy.
Tina
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