A special message from the AAPS president.
By Joseph W. Polli, Ph.D., FAAPS, President
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have been extensive, impacting each of us at a professional and personal level. The number of worldwide COVID-19 cases is over 1.3 million and deaths surpass 79,000. Social distancing, remote working, and online meetings are now the norm. Many of us are experiencing challenging situations in other ways—managing employees/students remotely, working to maintain or shut down ongoing research studies, or simply adjusting to working from home when the items you really need are still at your work office. To manage the stress, I have been doing breathing exercises, daily stretching, eating healthy, and exercising regularly. I have also been connecting with my fellow AAPS community members through coffee time each Friday (check out the PPDM community, or start your own!), working on AAPS programming ideas, or extending my own personal development through reading and online courses. The AAPS Board of Directors wants to ensure that all our pharmaceutical scientists have the tools they need to continue advancing their research and careers as we navigate through the COVID-19 crisis. None of us are alone. With the help of our dedicated members, AAPS is putting together a series of virtual learning opportunities.
The upcoming workshop Drug Transporters in ADME: From the Bench to the Bedside is going 100% online. The organizers have put together a great program with maximum flexibility to meet the needs of our community. The workshop will comprise live scientific sessions on hot topics, virtual Chalk Talks by partners, Ask-Me-Anything sessions in an attendee-only online community, and even online posters! Due to many of us juggling work and home responsibilities, AAPS is also recording all sessions and making them available to attendees after the event. You can view the full agenda online. This is a great opportunity for those in the transporters field to continue expanding their knowledge to further their research.
AAPS is also starting a weekly virtual Chalk Talk, Wednesdays at 11:15 am ET. These will be online presentations by scientists and partners discussing new products and research. Each presentation will be 15 minutes, with an additional 15 minutes of Q&A. I can’t wait to participate in these brief respites from my daily routine to learn more about what others are working on. The first Chalk Talk will be on Computational Studies of SARS-CoV-2: Application of Computational Chemistry and A.I. Algorithms for Pandemic Response by Mike Bellucci, Ph.D., senior director of Solid Form Design at XtalPi Inc. Join your colleagues for this presentation on April 15 at 11:15 am!
This past Monday, AAPS welcomed our new executive director, Tina Morris, Ph.D. Tina is a molecular virologist by training, and has hit the ground running by helping to put together a very exciting members-only program on COVID-19. This virtual event is still being planned, but we expect that it will include at least four sessions by well-known virology and regulatory experts covering topics such as assay challenges, new guidances, repurposing existing drugs, vaccine development, key public policies, and the global supply chain. These sessions will take place April 27–28 and May 11–12, and we hope to schedule additional COVID-19 programming at PharmSci 360. Stay tuned for more details on this cutting-edge event!
You may also be wondering about PharmSci 360. We will be holding our premier annual event in person on October 25–28 in New Orleans. The Board of Directors continues to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely and will make a final decision about this being a face-to-face event later in the year. In the meantime, we are reviewing alternate options for holding this important scientific meeting and will ensure that all of you are able to stay connected scientifically, engage a global network, and continue to push pharmaceutical sciences to discover, develop, and deliver new medicines no matter what the final format of the meeting may be. Also, know that AAPS will stand behind our promise to refund your registration if you cannot attend PharmSci 360 because of COVID-19. In anticipation of the event, go ahead and register today so you can be part of this great scientific program and face-to-face networking opportunities in October.
Do you have other ideas for virtual programming? We want to hear them! Reach out to me or submit your idea to meetings@aaps.org.
As always, I hope you all are staying safe and healthy. There are new recommendations for preventing the spread of COVID-19, especially since it can be spread through pre-symptomatic transmission. Follow the CDC and WHO websites for the official guidelines.