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Dear fellow SOT members:

I am delighted to invite you to Washington, DC, for the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention’s 66th Annual Meeting taking place June 14–17, 2026. This meeting is one of my favorite times of the year, when our community comes together to learn, reconnect, and spark new ideas, and I am excited to share that experience with you.

This year, our refreshed and streamlined 3.5-day format is designed to offer an inspiring blend of high-impact science, meaningful networking, and opportunities for professional growth for developmental and reproductive toxicologists, as well as colleagues in neurotoxicology, clinical and environmental health, risk assessment and epidemiology, regulatory science, and new approach methodologies (NAMs). Our 2026 theme, “Building a Better Tomorrow: Advances in the Fields of Pregnancy, Reproduction, and Development,” reflects our commitment to advancing knowledge that shapes healthier pregnancies, healthier babies, and healthier lives.

Under the leadership of Wafa Harrouk, this year’s program features an exciting range of symposia, including sessions on fluoride exposure and developmental risk, inclusion of pregnant and lactating women in clinical trials, exposome research, cross-disciplinary teratogenic risk assessment, next-generation NAMs for reproductive tissues, and emerging directions in birth defects research.

Other highlights include a continuing education course on “Placental Pathology and Associated Toxicological Models,” platform and poster sessions, special lectures honoring the Society’s founders, and numerous opportunities for professional development and collaboration across academia, industry, regulatory agencies, CROs, and clinical research. These gatherings are where some of the best professional connections, and friendships, start.

The regular abstract deadline is February 15. Trainees who submit abstracts should apply for travel awards by February 22. I always love seeing earlycareer scientists get the support and visibility they deserve.

If you have not attended a BDRP Annual Meeting before, I genuinely hope this is the year you join us and experience firsthand our exceptional scientific programming and our strong, welcoming community dedicated to advancing birth defects research and prevention. All details are on the BDRP 66th Annual Meeting website.

I look forward to welcoming you to an engaging, collegial, and scientifically rich meeting in Washington, DC. And if you will be at the SOT Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology Specialty Section (RDTSS) reception next month in San Diego, please come say hello, I would be happy to talk more and answer any questions.

Prägati S. Coder, PhD, DABT
President
Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention