Christina Chambers
As we come to the close of 2008 and look to the coming year, the hard work and energy of the Society's Strategic Planning Working Groups is starting to bear fruit. With each Working Group's recommendations and summary report in hand, Melissa Tassinari and the Strategic Planning Oversight Committee will be working with Council to implement recommendations through each of the Society's standing committees, as well as other avenues. However, I think we can feel satisfied that early progress has already been achieved for each of our Strategic Intents.
One major accomplishment towards our goal of improved Communications was the launch of the new website. The site is now in a format designed to be much more functional as well as appealing to the user. Thanks to the Website Committee, under the leadership of Amar Singh, Ed Carney, and Tony DeLise, this vehicle should increasingly become a focal point for communication within the Society and to the public. Similarly, our goal of increased Visibility for the Society was recently addressed by the Public Affairs Committee, led by Patte Bittner, who drafted and
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Barbara Hales
The 49th Annual Meeting of the Teratology Society will be June 26-July 1, 2009, in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. The Wyndham Rio Mar Resort, set on a 500-acre tropical resort on magnificent Rio Mar Beach, is located on the Northeast corner of Puerto Rico.
The 2009 Program Committee of the Teratology Society, partnering with the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists (OTIS); and Neurobehavioral Teratology Society (NBTS), has arranged for an outstanding and expansive scientific program. The theme of the 2009 scientific program is “Gene-Environment Interactions: Impact on Maternal and Child Health”. The program for the 2009 Teratology Society Annual Meeting includes three education courses, nine cutting edge scientific symposia, three state of the art lectures, and two lunch box sessions. There are also opportunities for open research communications such as platform talks or poster presentations. The session topics address newer concepts in the field and are likely to generate lively interaction.
The topics to be discussed under our theme will range from the latest findings in basic research on the developmental basis of adult disease to the epidemiology, underlying mechanisms and management of such common problems as prematurity and maternal obesity. A joint TS, NBTS and OTIS symposium will focus on global issues in maternal and child health. Hot topics to be discussed include the use of natural herbal products during pregnancy and the role of genes and the environment in autism. Considerations of how to ensure drug safety, both during pregnancy and in children, will encompass approaches that range all the way from studies in non-human primates to computational toxicology.
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