ASIA 2008 DRAWS 350 ATTENDEES TO SUNNY CALIFORNIA
The 34th Annual Scientific Meeting of ASIA, held at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort in Coronado, California (June 19-22) was a successful conference in a spectacular setting. The resort, on the shores of San Diego Bay, provided the spectacular combination of a naturally beautiful location and a hotel that was ideally suited for the ASIA meeting. Attendees enjoyed coffee breaks on the veranda overlooking the bay, strolls through the lush gardens and environmentally protected seabird habitat, and lovely weather every day.
The meeting featured a half day precourse, sponsored by SCOPE, on “Standards and Outcomes for Assessing SCI: Integrating Into Clinical Trials,” followed by three days the consisted of 7 themed General Sessions of 6 papers each; 2 Best Practice sessions and 2 Expert Panels (new this year), and 2 Instructional Courses (all at 90 minutes each); a day long state-of-the-art symposium on “Recent Advances in Musculoskeletal Care;” and a half day Spine Symposium on “Evidence Based Spine Trauma Treatment Techniques.”
Scientific posters (52) were displayed electronically for the first time this year. Attendees were able to view the posters on big screen monitors, in categories. For viewer convenience, two screens were equipped with scrolling capability, so that viewers could go directly to specific posters. This innovation was well received and is expected to become standard at future ASIA meetings.
The G. Heiner Sell Distinguished Lectureship was presented by Mark Tuszynski, M.D., Ph.D. of the University of California, San Diego. His topic was: “Enhancing Plasticity and Regeneration After SCI: Challenges of Clinical Translation.” The ASIA Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to J. Darrell Shea, M.D. of Orlando, Florida. Dr. Shea is a past-president of ASIA (1983-1985) and was instrumental in the early development of ASIA standards of care in spinal cord injury. The Erica Nader Award for breakthrough neuroscience research went to Jerry Silver, Ph.D., of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. The Apple Award for excellence in SCI rehabilitation publishing was presented to Christopher Patrick Smith, M.D. of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and the Best Published Article by an ASIA Member in 2007 was presented to Daniel P. Lammertse, M.D., Medical Director of Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colorado. In addition, three awards each for best papers and best posters presented at the meeting were given. Details on these can be found in the awards section of the website.
ASIA honored its partners with a showcase for the second year in a row. Attendees were able to meet representatives from fifteen partner companies during a refreshment break. Through its new “ASIA Facilities Referral Guide,” ASIA offered an opportunity for SCI rehabilitation facilities nationwide to place their ads in a single publication that could be used by colleagues when referrals of patients from their states were needed.
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