In response to many comments regarding the length of the Scientific Sessions at the SOT Annual Meeting and the short times between 165-minute and 80-minute sessions in the mornings and afternoons, SOT Council has endorsed a pilot for the 2019 Annual Meeting in Baltimore in which one afternoon will be programmed with up to 14 90-minute sessions. There will be seven 90-minute sessions occurring concurrently, followed by a 30-minute break to allow for individuals to follow up with speakers or networking with session attendees, and then an additional seven 90-minute sessions. Notably, this will allow for twice the number of sessions to be presented in an afternoon, which will enhance the possibility of proposal acceptance. The Scientific Program Committee (SPC) enthusiastically supports the pilot.
The SPC will be asking those developing proposals for the May 15, 2018, deadline to consider a 90-minute session; the proposal submission site opens in early March 2018. Similar to the traditional session format, each session will require a chair and co-chair with the chair position being a member of the Society. The 90-minute sessions can include two or three speakers, with the latter the preferred format; no more than three speakers will be allowed. For topics that are more controversial or mature, the SPC is requesting the session organizers propose a balanced speaker roster to ensure input from all sides of the issue or all sectors of the SOT membership (in the case of matured topics). However, for less controversial topics or depending on the state of the science, the SPC recognizes that it may be appropriate to have only one or perhaps two membership sectors represented in the speaker roster.
For the 2019 session proposals, the OASIS system will be programmed to accept this new format as an option. If an insufficient number of high-quality proposals are received, the SPC and SOT Council will work to develop enough proposals to ensure a full half-day of programming. Standard format, 165- and 80-minute sessions, will still be accepted for review by the SPC and programmed in the usual manner for the remainder of the 2019 Annual Meeting.