Colleagues and Friends,

2021 is shaping up to be another year of change, but our community has never been afraid of change. Instead, we are embracing the opportunity to find new ways to foster the sharing of ideas and advance our field.

Here are just some of the ways we’re driving change in 2021.

We launched the Joint ASTCT-EBMT Basic and Translational Scientific Retreat, taking place October 13–15, 2021. This inaugural meeting will focus on fundamental themes and novel technologies with an emphasis on unpublished and innovative science. Attendance will be limited to 100 attendees, with afternoon breaks to allow for informal networking opportunities between junior and senior attendees. We’re excited to partner with EBMT to continue to drive important conversations around emerging technologies and cutting-edge science to improve patient outcomes.

Last week we held our first Twitter Chat as part of a new series hosted by our Content Committee and Shared Interest Groups (SIGs). Each month, a SIG selects an article from our Transplantation and Cellular Therapy journal, and our community gathers online throughout the day to discuss our takeaways. I hope you’ll join us for future chats. It’s a great way to learn from the collective knowledge and experience of our peers.

We have some exciting changes in the works related to how we’re publishing content around topics that matter most to our members. Keep an eye out for an announcement coming soon on a new platform for ASTCT content.  

Finally, our 2021 Fundamentals of HCT Training Course was a huge success. We saw record-breaking attendance with attendees representing 17 different countries and all facets of the transplantation and cellular therapy field.

We hope you enjoy these new ways to engage with the ASTCT community. Keep sharing other ideas for our society to continue connecting and growing.

Stella Davies, MBBS, PhD

Tags: astct, committee, Twitter, President, EBMT, Retreat, Abstracts, Change, Landscape, Content