Dear SMRT Community,

You have probably heard by now that the ISMRM Board of Trustees made the decision to convert the 2021 Annual Meeting from a hybrid meeting to an online, virtual conference. We were all hopeful to reconnect in person in the beautiful city of Vancouver, which is what many of us wanted after this challenging year; however, we also know in our hearts this is the right decision at this point in time. Even though COVID-19 vaccines are currently being distributed, they will not reach our entire membership early enough to make a May meeting possible, not to mention social distancing, wearing masks, occupation limits, and quarantines that would  be required. Moreover, many institutions are still imposing travel restrictions, which would impair the ability of our members to attend an in-person meeting. For all of these reasons, moving to an online meeting was the only viable choice.

With that being said, we are confident that this year’s Annual Meeting will be as dynamic and informative as ever. The Annual Meeting Program Committee has already begun the process of building an education-packed conference highlighting member-submitted abstracts, numerous educational sessions, energetic lecturers, cutting-edge plenary topics, and of course, social activities to bring us together while apart.

We are retaining many of the excellent features from last year’s online Annual Meeting, while also making changes to elevate further our meeting, specifically to improve our ability to interact with one another. Our 2021 Annual Meeting will include:

• On-demand viewing of all abstract presentations will be available prior to the Annual Meeting;
• Interactive scientific and educational sessions in Applications, Body, Management, MSK, MRS, Neuro, Pediatrics, Safety and new topic Data/Post-Processing;
• A Special Forum on COVID-related Complications and New Developments in Infection Control;
• 5 Master Classes in Safety Physics by Dr. Donald McRobbie;
• 12 International Clinical Forums;
• Networking Sessions with special guests who are “Influencers of the MRI Social Media Community” as well as the ever-popular Pub Quizzes.

Despite the challenges of the past year, our community of MR Radiographers and Technologists has continued to be as vibrant as ever as witnessed by the multitude of virtual meetings, Division Meetings and National Chapter Meetings held throughout 2020. We know that the Annual Meeting is an important time for all of us to come together – some may even say it is their favorite professional activity, and social event, on their calendar. As your Program Chair and President, our primary goal over the next four months is to ensure that the spirit of the face-to-face Annual Meeting is retained in the 2021 online experience. We can’t wait to “see” you there!

Nancy Hill Beluk, R.T.(R), SMRT President                            Thao T. Tran, M.Sc., AMPC Chair

Registration opens Wednesday, 27 January 2021