ATOD’s April Program Planning Meeting a Big Success!
By Linda Bosma
Thank you to everyone who helped make the ATOD Section Annual Program Planning Meeting so successful again this year! As members may know, the ATOD program is the result of hundreds of hours of work by nearly 100 volunteers each year. This year was no exception, and a HUGE THANK YOU goes out to everyone who donated their time, energy, and expertise again this year!
It all started in February and March when 72 people helped review abstracts for the Section. We had over 450 abstracts submitted this year, and each needed to be peer reviewed. We were able to assign each abstract to at least three reviewers this year, thanks to the many people who volunteered. This expertise ensures the high quality of the annual ATOD program.
On April 5, 20 people gathered in Washington, D.C .to use the reviews to organize the final ATOD program. Planners from the areas of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs ranging from prevention to treatment and education to environmental strategies undertook the painstaking task of making final decisions about approval and arranging the sessions around topics of interest to the section membership. This year we were hosted by Carol Schmitt, at the RTI offices, so a special thank you for providing a meeting space for us this year. A special thank you to the following participants who contributed to the 2009 planning meeting: Bob Vollinger, Cynthia Hallett, Carol Schmidt, Fran Stillman, Amanda Woodfield, Deborah McLellan, Andrea Frydl, Diana Conti, Tom Greenfield, Michele Simon, Jen Juras, Bob Denniston, Linda Frazier, Ann Mahony, Brandon Johnson, Kathye Gorosh, Lawrence Brown, Vinitha Meyyur, Steve Lankenau, and Dionne Godette.
This year’s program features a wide range of presentations that cover a broad spectrum of issues. Several sessions are focusing on aspects of taking research to practice/science to service. One session will focus on ATOD evaluation issues, one on coalition issues, and another on the challenges posed by funding in our fields. New tobacco research on unintended consequences of tobacco control laws will be featured related to water quality, in line with our conference theme for 2009. In addition, we have exciting sessions on international issues, cessation, alcohol and tobacco policy, college drinking, priority populations, and much more! Plus, we have 20 student posters in our student poster contest this year, which will be shown and judged on Monday of the conference. Altogether, the program will feature 39 oral sessions (with five presentations each) and 29 poster sessions (with 10 posters each).
So plan to join us in Philadelphia for one of our most exciting ATOD programs to date!
Linda Bosma,
Program Chair