After thoughtful deliberations, the Boards of Directors of the International Association for Dental Research and the American Association for Dental Research, with input from the Canadian Association for Dental Research, the IADR Pan European Region, many Institutional and Corporate Members and individual Members, have made the difficult, but necessary decision to cancel the IADR/AADR/CADR General Session & Exhibition scheduled for March 18-21, 2020 in Washington, DC, USA, due to the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak.   

As previously communicated via email, the website and social media, the IADR and AADR leadership has been closely monitoring the U.S. CDC and WHO websites and other sources regarding COVID-19. The IADR/AADR has been also monitoring the global response of containment and mitigation on COVID-19 and its impact on our members, institutions, corporations and other stakeholders. Based on the numerous travel bans and advisories implemented by Governments and Governmental agencies, institutions and corporations, and to protect public health, it is clear that canceling is the right course of action.

The General Session is an enormous undertaking involving the volunteer leadership, the annual session committee, the scientific groups and networks, presenters, IADR/AADR staff and countless others. 2020 is a special year as we were scheduled to celebrate the IADR Centennial throughout the meeting, including three Centennial Plenary sessions, many centennial-themed symposia and an IADR Centennial Gala at the U.S. Library of Congress. For that, we thank the Centennial Task Force as well.      

While there will be an inevitable “sense of loss” regarding this cancellation, over the coming weeks and months, we will explore ways to virtually celebrate all of the awards, fellowships and grants we planned to celebrate in Washington, DC as well as 100 years of dental, oral and craniofacial research.       

What Happens Next?

Everyone who has registered to attend the meeting will receive a full registration refund within the next 45 days. Once your registration cancellation is processed, you will receive confirmation in a separate email. You do not need to contact IADR or our registration company Spargo. Despite the cancellation of the meeting, IADR/AADR will make abstracts citable as part of a special online only issue of the Journal of Dental Research. Remember to cancel any personal arrangements you’ve made, such as travel and housing reservations. Please note any cancellation of your hotel reservation must be made at least seventy-two (72) hours prior to your scheduled arrival date to avoid penalty (unless noted otherwise).

We ask for patience as we evaluate our next steps, and we will alert you as additional information becomes available. Please refer to the FAQ for details.