Six months from now

We've all seen a lot of changes in the past six months. And we can expect to see more in the months ahead. I believe these will be mostly changes for the better as more and more people are vaccinated and boostered against COVID-19 and we inch toward something resembling our pre-pandemic lives. The world might never be quite the same, but that's not entirely a bad thing. The past six months (and the 12 months before that) have taught us a lot about who we are both individually and as a society, about what we can do — and what's just not sustainable.

Six months from now, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology will meet in person, along with four other scientific societies, for Experimental Biology 2022 in Philadelphia. In addition to being the first in-person meeting since 2019, this will be the last combined EB. In 2023, the ASBMB and other participating societies will part ways to hold individual meetings.

So the 2022 annual meeting finds us at a hello–goodbye moment. It will be a one-of-a-kind event. And here at ASBMB central, we're getting excited.

In ASBMB Today, we got a bit of a head start in September with Bill Sullivan's essay, "How to write a killer abstract." (I sincerely hope you've started writing yours.) And we pull out all the stops with a terrific letter from the co-chairs of the ASBMB meeting, descriptions of our 10 themed symposia (see this example and scroll down for links to the others) and introductions to the society's 16 award winners. In coming months, we'll provide more details about events, programming, speakers and things to do in the host city.

And to celebrate the return of the annual meeting as an in-person event, we're holding a special essay contest. Here are the details:

Have you made a friendship or connection, forged a collaboration, gleaned insight or had another meaningful experience at a scientific meeting? If so, tell us about it. We invite you to write about your own meeting connection in 300–500 words. The deadline is Dec. 1. We'll publish the best stories in our March issue. 

•    First place: Free ASBMB membership, free registration to the 2022 ASBMB annual meeting and a $100 Amazon gift card.

•    Second place: Free registration to the 2022 ASBMB annual meeting and a $50 Amazon gift card.

•    Third place: $25 Amazon gift card.

Email your submission to ASBMB Today using the subject line "Meeting connections." Or use the submissions page at ASBMB Today.