Will I be seeing you in Los Angeles this month? The American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) Annual Meeting and Clinical Lab Expo is being held there Sunday, July 15, through Thursday, July 19, and Medical Laboratory Observer wouldn't miss it for the world. It's a great chance for us to meet our readers, check out the latest products and services being offered as solutions for the Chemistry Lab, and sit in on fascinating educational sessions.
Check out the 2012 Annual Conference Meeting Program at www.aacc.org/events/2012am/conferenceprogram/Pages/Default.aspx. I did, and I found a wealth of information that is helping me to plan my own participation in the conference.
Of special note are the five 90-minute plenary sessions, featuring speakers with different perspectives on the future of healthcare. Sunday at 5 p.m. the topic will be “Entering the Era of Genomic Medicine: Research Opportunities and Challenges.” Monday at 8:45 a.m. the theme will be “9p21 DNA Variants Associated with Coronary Artery Disease Risk.” Tuesday at 8:45 a.m. the subject will be “The Ethics of Human Tissues in Research.” Wednesday at 8:45 a.m., the session will be dedicated to “Whole Genome Sequencing in the Clinical Setting.” On Thursday at 12:30 p.m., the final plenary session will be presented on the topic of “Diet and CVD Prevention: Where Should the Emphasis Be?” “Meet the Experts” sessions will follow the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday plenary sessions.
Symposia sessions, presented by experts actively involved in the field, will be ongoing, with full-day symposia from10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday. Morning symposia (10:30 a.m. to noon Monday through Wednesday, and 9:30 a.m. to noon Thursday), and afternoon symposia (2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Wednesday) will also be offered. Among the fascinating and timely topics to be covered are POCT, exome and genome sequencing, DNA technology for molecular diagnostics, gestational diabetes, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) as biomarkers, the “Omics” revolution, thyroid disease, patient safety and medical errors, and external quality assessments/proficiency testing.
Short Courses, intensive treatment of subjects presented to audiences of 50 to 100 participants, are also being offered at various times Sunday through Wednesday. Some of the short course topics include applications of molecular diagnostics and pharmacogenomics in targeted therapeutics; deciphering and preventing unexpected drug testing results; acute coronary syndromes and high-sensitivity troponin; HCV management; biobanking; HIV, Hepatitis C, and Hepatitis B; genetic testing; multiplex mass spectrometry; standardization of immunoassays; serum protein electrophoresis (SPE); LC/MS/MS; multi-analyte panels; and prenatal testing for Down syndrome; among many others.
Brown Bag sessions, early morning or lunchtime meetings that provide an opportunity for active exchanges with noted experts, also will be held Monday through Wednesday. Just a few of the topics to be covered include HbA1c, vitamin D, metabolic syndrome, sepsis, Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, the CDC's lipid standardization program, macroenzymes, cystic fibrosis screening, lab disaster preparation, liquid chromatography, preeclampsia, closing the HIV window, islet autoantibody testing, hemoglobinopathies, value-based reimbursement, chronic kidney disease, assessing anlayte stability, LDTs, prostate specific antigen, biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease, and many more.
In addition, the Clinical Lab Expo will be held from July 17 through July 19. Be sure not to miss the world's largest exposition of clinical laboratory products and services, with more than 700 exhibitors scheduled to attend. Exhibit hours are Tuesday, July 17, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Wednesday, July 18, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Thursday, July 19, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. MLO will have a booth (# 314), and my colleagues and I would love to meet you. Please stop by!
Southern California has distractions, from Disneyland to the Dodgers…but I think the dedicated laboratorians who come to the AACC Annual Meeting 2012 will not be tempted to stray from the Los Angeles Convention Center. There will be too much going on that attendees will not want to miss.
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