ACR Convergence 2020: Reimagining the ACR/ARP Annual Meeting

Dr. Eric Rubin is this year’s keynote lecturer.

Looking back on last year’s ACR/ARP annual meeting, I recall the energy and excitement of attendees as they participated in sessions covering the latest scientific concepts and new directions in our field. In 2019, we piloted a number of innovative ways to modernize and enhance future ACR meetings, with the promise of delivering a transformed annual meeting in 2020. No one could have predicted then how extensive this transformation would be or that this year’s annual meeting, ACR Convergence 2020, would go down in history as our first fully virtual annual meeting.

In a few short months, the Annual Meeting Planning Committee (AMPC), dedicated ACR leaders and talented ACR staff have collaborated to reimagine all aspects of the meeting, with the goal of creating an all-virtual, interactive environment for the global rheumatology community. This meeting will provide a forum to present the highest quality educational content in a way that allows everyone to participate and learn, with the unified purpose of improving patient care.

2020 Program

When viewing the program, the first significant change you will see is the day and time of the Opening Ceremony. This session will be held on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 2 p.m. EST and will include the presidential address and the keynote lecture. In addition, we will recognize the ACR’s Gold Medal Award recipient and present the always popular Year in Review.

The 2020 keynote lecturer is Eric Rubin, MD, editor in chief of The New England Journal of Medicine, chair of the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, and the Irene Heinz Given Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Rubin is a recognized leader in the field who is known for his groundbreaking research on tuberculosis and his dedication to often neglected patient populations. I anticipate this presentation—when Dr. Rubin will share his perspectives on the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic from the standpoint of one at the forefront of new data analysis and dissemination—will be a highlight of the meeting.

Also, Jinoos Yazdany, MD, MPH, and Richard J. Bucala, MD, PhD, will present the Year in Review, synthesizing many new advances into a 60-minute presentation—a daunting task, but I have full confidence they will do justice to this extraordinary year.

Participants can expect cutting-edge science presented by experts in the field, along with ways to connect with speakers and colleagues. The AMPC, chaired by Victoria Shanmugam, MD, director, Division of Rheumatology, George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates, Washington, D.C., has led the development of a rigorous scientific program.