In what has been a unique year with facing the COVID-19 pandemic, changing practices for medical publications and communications, and adjusting to work from home and virtual congresses, ISMPP was especially thrilled to have over 650 attendees participate in our virtual 17th Annual Meeting, setting a NEW ATTENDANCE RECORD!
Held April 12-14, 2021, the 17th Annual Meeting addressed the theme, Medical Communications 2.0: Creating and Embracing Opportunities in a Time of Transformation. Sessions centered around these current topics: Building Public Trust in Science; Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion; and Forward-Thinking Ways to Communicate Virtually & Digitally.
Participants, and those who did not participate, in the virtual event have these options to explore the 17th Annual Meeting:
- The Publication Plan has posted informative summaries from Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 of the 17th Annual Meeting on its website. Thank you to The Publication Plan, our Media Partner!
- Attendees can access recordings of the live and on-demand sessions on the meeting’s Whova app, until June 30, 2021.
- ISMPP members can access session slide decks in PDF format in the 17th Annual Meeting Archive after June 30, 2021.
- Member research posters, plus Poster Award Winners, are publicly available on the ISMPP Poster Platform, generously sponsored by Envision Pharma Group. Posters can be viewed on the platform until June 30, 2021, with the opportunity to ask questions of poster authors. Posters will be available in the 17th Annual Meeting Archives after June 30, 2021.
- Watch the Leadership Update video, presented by ISMPP President & CEO Robert Matheis, addressing the transformation of our profession and updates on ISMPP initiatives, including GPP4 and the Authorship Algorithm.
Attendees Experienced an Engaging and Current Events-Filled Program
The 17th Annual Meeting – the second time ISMPP has held its Annual Meeting as a virtual event – offered live formats for Keynote Addresses, Plenary Sessions, and Roundtable discussions. On Demand sessions were available via recording, and scientific posters were accessible on the online ISMPP Poster Platform. Attendees were also able to engage virtually with our Host and Supporter sponsors, and they could attend Ask-the-Experts discussions with our Host Sponsors.
Live Keynotes, Plenary Sessions, Roundtables, plus On-demand Sessions
Our three keynote speakers spotlighted the cutting-edge topics of medical misinformation, equity/diversity/inclusion, and patient partnership:
- Helping Patients and Healthcare Professionals Navigate Medical Misinformation
- Dr. Brian Southwell, Senior Director, Science in the Public Sphere, RTI International
- Writing for Equity & Inclusion: The Role of Empathy in Medical Communications
- Stacy Robison, Founder/Owner, CommunicateHealth Inc.
- Patient Partnership in Medical Conferences
- Audun Utengen, Co-Founder and Partner, Symplur (part of Real Chemistry)
Brian Southwell 
Stacy Robison 
Audun Utengen
Plenary sessions addressed significant topics related to:
- COVID-19 pandemic, including the public face of science, the evolving role of preprints, and overcoming vaccination hesitancy
- Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, by defining a roadmap for the medical publication and communication professions, and exploring opportunities for improvement in our industry
- Applying UX design to progress scientific writing and journal articles
- Embracing the digital world by medical societies and congresses
- Launch of ISMPP Authorship Algorithm, a framework to quantify and score author contributions
- Next steps for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and what it will mean
Roundtable sessions provided a welcome opportunity for attendees to talk with peers about present-day topics of interest, including plain language summaries, social media use, virtual scientific exchange, open access, patient engagement, and simultaneous peer review.
“Attending ISMPP 2021 put a pep back in my step — the sessions were engaging, thought-provoking, and inspiring, even in the virtual environment!”
On-demand sessions offered further learnings, many with practical applications. Attendees heard about digital transformation of medical communications; using digital enhancements; metrics, analytics, and storyboarding; patient engagement; artificial intelligence (AI) tools to mine the scientific literature; metrics for scientific communication platforms; virtual speaker management; safeguarding mental health; and more. The ISMPP Business Session was also available on-demand.
In honor of our esteemed faculty, ISMPP donated to The Meetings Industry Fund, providing financial assistance for meetings industry employees that are incurring a financial crisis.
Member Research Posters and Award Winners, plus Oral Presentations
Showcasing the latest member research, 46 scientific posters were available for viewing on the ISMPP Poster Platform. A Poster Authors Q&A offered real-time access to authors for attendees to submit comments and questions.
Two posters were selected for oral presentations and were available as an on-demand session:
- Plain Language Summaries of Publications: Diverse Stakeholders Identify Key Opportunities to Accelerate Uptake – presented by Jason Gardner and Dawn Lobban
- Are Copyright Permissions Required for Using Modified Published Figures in Biomedical Journal Articles? A Survey – presented by Saurabh Gagangras
Congratulations to the winners of the poster awards, shown below, for Best Original Research, Best Practice, Best Visual Communication, and Publication Star (a tie!).
Board of Trustees – Welcome and Thank You!
The 2021-2022 ISMPP Board of Trustees initiated its term during the 17th Annual Meeting. Congratulations to Valérie Philippon who assumed the role of ISMPP Chair! Todd Parker transitioned to Immediate Past Chair. The following individuals were elected to their positions:
Dan Bridges, Chair-Elect
Jason Gardner, At-Large Trustee
Ronnie Lin, Asia Pacific Trustee
Debra Mayo, Nominating Committee (non-voting)
Thank you to Catherine Skobe, Kirsten Parr, and Martine Docking for their service on the ISMPP Board of Trustees!
With Great Appreciation!
A Special Thank You to the Annual Meeting Program Committee for its leadership in developing informative, engaging content for the meeting! We extend Particular Gratitude to Kirsten Parr, Chair, and Amy Foreman-Wykert, Vice Chair, of the Program Committee. Much Appreciation to Jennifer Ciafullo, Senior Manager, Education Content, ISMPP, and Deidra Renahan, Manager, Conferences and Events, ISMPP, for their management of the meeting!
We are Grateful to our Host and Supporter Sponsors for their valued support of the 17th Annual Meeting! We truly appreciate your innovative approaches to the sponsor offerings in our virtual meeting format.
A Sincere Thank You to our Champion Sponsors that registered 10 or more staff members from their company to attend the 17th Annual Meeting.
Mark Your Calendar – Join Us for these ISMPP Meetings!
- 2021 Asia Pacific Meeting of ISMPP – September 9-10, 2021; Virtual Event
- ISMPP West 2021 – October 21-22, 2021; Irvine, California
- 2022 European Meeting of ISMPP – January 25-26, 2022; London, UK
- 18th Annual Meeting of ISMPP – May 8-11, 2022; Washington, DC
“The most valuable professionally-related conference that I make sure to attend every year. Have attended the last 5 years; it never disappoints. The presentations are very forward-thinking, but the format also provides plenty of opportunities to network and discuss pain points with other professionals and develop solutions that can be implemented immediately in your day-to-day work. Can’t recommend it enough!”