Due to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), the 2020 IADR/AADR/CADR General Session has been canceled.
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.