We look forward to ‘seeing’ you at CRA’s first virtual Annual Scientific Meeting! It’s shaping up to be an exciting and dynamic offering that can be enjoyed from the comfort of your own home. In 2021, as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the CRA, our meeting will showcase the strengths of our extended rheumatology community, aptly captured by the theme of our meeting: Collaboration, Resilience and Advancement.
Oh, what a difference a year can make…. clinical care, research and meetings have all been transformed by technology and are much different than what we were accustomed to when we last met in Victoria. While a ‘virtual’ conference will undoubtedly also be a different experience than years past, what will NOT change is the exciting lineup of speakers and workshops you expect, as well as the opportunities to network that you enjoy.
The meeting will run from Wednesday, February 24th to Friday, February 26th, 2021. Each day will offer a full day of formal, interactive programming and adequate time for networking, plus, you will have the opportunity to watch on-demand sessions afterwards! Although the sessions are shorter in duration than at CRA’s in-person conference, they will deliver practical, clinically applicable learnings from leading experts from Canada and around the world.
The ASM keynote lectures include:
Dunlop-Dottridge, delivered by Dr. Daniel Kastner, NIH Distinguished Investigator, Inflammatory Disease Section, National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI).
Dr. Kastner will speak on the advances made in understanding autoinflammatory diseases
State-of-the-Art, delivered by Dr. Michael Libman, Director of the J.D. MacLean Centre for Tropical Diseases at McGill University.
Dr. Libman will be speaking to us about vaccinations and rheumatic diseases.
Keynote Lecture, delivered by Dr. Danielle Martin, family physician and Executive Vice-President and Chief Medical Executive of Women’s College Hospital in Toronto.
A highly regarded health system leader, Dr. Martin will speak to us about inequities in health care delivery in the current times.
Additionally, we will feature abstracts and poster tours for trainees and investigators to showcase their research activities; State-of-the-Art and crowd-sourced workshops; satellite symposia; as well as the not-to-be-missed crowd favourites including Clinical Pearls and Mysterious Cases, RheumJeopardy and The Great Debate! Opportunities to celebrate our award-winning colleagues will be featured throughout the meeting, and satellite meetings will feature the Residents’ Pre-Course, CRA Review Course, AHPA Pre-Course, and the Canadian Arthritis Research Conference.
We welcome all CRA and AHPA members, as well interested stakeholders, and colleagues around the word to join us for this exciting and memorable annual scientific meeting. We look forward to reconnecting, sharing, and celebrating with you in February!
Vinod Chandran
On behalf of the CRA Annual Scientific Meeting Program Committee