So much to do, so little time
The number of abstracts submitted to this year’s AUA Annual Meeting in Washington, DC set an all-time record. We received 6,638 paper and 400 video submissions, of which 2,318 abstracts were accepted for presentation. This tremendous response from urological investigators around the world will result in 58 podium sessions (696 presentations), 75 moderated poster sessions (1,500 posters) and 11 video sessions (122 videos), again representing the largest numbers of sessions in the history of the AUA Annual Meeting.
The best posters from each session will be honored and showcased on a continuous basis throughout the meeting at a prominent location in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The number of submissions is also a reflection of the quality research in urology worldwide.
Plenary Sessions, scheduled Sunday through Wednesday mornings, will feature state-of-the-art lectures by experts in the field, point/counterpoint debates, critical discussions and panel discussions. We also plan to schedule several “Late-Breaking News” presentations again this year during the Plenary Sessions. As in the past, Thursday’s Plenary Session will be devoted to Take Home Messages summarizing the week’s topics in review.
The Late-Breaking Science Forum will be held from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 17, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. This Forum, as well as the Late-Breaking News presentations, allows the AUA to include important research that is completed after the deadlines for meeting submissions have passed.
We at the AUA look forward to hosting you in our nation’s capital. This beautiful city houses our most important government buildings (the White House and Capitol), monuments to our most important forefathers (Presidents Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson among many others) and many world-class museums. Therefore, this year’s Annual Meeting promises to bring together the very best in science that urology has to offer, with perhaps the best venue in which to feel the “spirit” that created our country. I hope to see all of you in Washington, DC and look forward to warmly welcoming you personally!
Robert C. Flanigan, M.D.
AUA Secretary and Program Chair