Due to continued concern about the COVID-19 pandemic, the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) announced on Thursday that its 2020 annual meeting will be held online July 11-14.
This year's event was scheduled for New Orleans in June. However, the city's convention center was transformed into a medical monitoring station in March to treat patients recovering from COVID-19 for up to 60 days so that area hospitals could care for the most acute cases.
Dr. Vasken Dilsizian."The New Orleans mayor and the Louisiana governor have sent clear signals that they do not expect the city to be ready to host large conventions in the immediate future," wrote Dr. Vasken Dilsizian, SNMMI president, in the communiqué. "Governor John Bel Edwards plans to leave the makeshift COVID-19 healthcare facility at the New Orleans Convention Center, our original meeting venue, in place for the time being because of potential concerns for an uptick in cases in the fall or winter."
The 2020 virtual annual meeting will be free to all SNMMI members, with a discounted registration fee for nonmembers. The interactive virtual platform will allow participants to attend live continuing education (CE) sessions, review and listen to hundreds of scientific abstracts on demand, visit the exhibit hall, and attend networking events.
The organization plans to release its full program and registration details on Friday, May 1. In the meantime, the SNMMI has provided answers to frequently asked questions, including information regarding CE credit.
All live sessions at the SNMMI virtual annual meeting will be available immediately after broadcast, while on-demand sessions will be available for 12 months following the program. All 2020 accepted abstracts will be published in the online edition of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine on May 15.
Dilsizian, who also serves as a professor of radiology and medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the chief of the division of nuclear medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center, expressed his wishes for SNMMI members.
"I wish you and your families continued health and safety and look forward to connecting with each of you virtually this July," he said.
