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The American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Session 2011 was held in the Orange Country Conversion Center, Orlando, Florida, United States on 12-16 Nov, 2011. It is the annual meeting of the American Heart Association, and is the largest leading conference in the cardiovascular research field in the United States.
Moreover, this year, the International Congress on Global Cardiovascular Prevention and Health Promotion ran concurrently with Scientific Sessions. There were also lots of opportunities for networking and meeting with other researchers or experts from around the world. This was my first visit to the United States and this meeting is the largest one that I have attended so far.
There were many lectures or presentations running simultaneously according to the seven multidisciplinary cardiovascular cores, namely “cardiovascular Imaging”, “epidemiology and prevention of cardiovascular disease: physiology, pharmacology and lifestyle”, “genetics, genomics and congenital cardiovascular disorders”, “heart rhythm disorders and resuscitation science”, “myocardium: function and failure”, “catheter-based and
surgical interventions”, and “vascular disease: biology and clinical science”. Therefore, it was quite difficult to choose which lectures to attend, especially when the meeting place is very large and I have broad interests.
However, this problem was minimized because, as a AHA member, I can later view the recorded lectures or presentations through the Sessions OnDemand on the AHA website. The first day of the conference program mainly focused on early career development.
One of the key points to early career success is to have a good mentor which can help to provide networking opportunities and advice. As a junior postdoctoral fellow, mentorship is very important for me and I have registered as a mentee in the AHA International Mentoring program. I understand that the AHA is working towards find a mentor from its pool of volunteers.
In this meeting, I presented my findings on the prevalence of arthritis in the United States, its risk factors and association with cardiovascular diseases in a poster format.
Several people were interested in my studies and gave me some valuable comments for improvement and because of this I left the meeting with a lot of new ideas for future studies. Moreover, as the electronic files of both the poster and a 5-mintute audio narration had been uploaded to the AHA website, participants could view the abstract and listen to my presentation using the QR code through their smart phones, when I was not available.
There were also some social activities during the Scientific Sessions such as meeting luncheons, receptions, and annual dinners organized by different AHA councils as well as the Fun Walk/Fun Run.
On 15 November, I attended the annual dinners organized by the Epidemiology and Prevention Council and the Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism. In this dinner, a talkative professor, who was a fellow of AHA, kindly joined us and discussed with us about the medical health and research environment in and outside the US.
I also participated in the Fun Walk/Fun Run on 15 November. The event started at 6:30am in the Bill Frederick Park at Turkey Lake. During the event, I was attracted by the beautiful scene and often stopped running/walking for a while to take some photos.
Moreover, the conference center is located in the International Drive resort area. There are a lot of different attractions, dining places, and shopping centers in the surrounding area, which can be easily accessed by the I-ride Trolley, a fun and convenient and ways to explore the International Drive. |
remely busy, with AAS hosting ISA2012, our SCOLAR program continuing, our clinical weekend in October, not to mention the continued FH activties. On behalf of the Executive, I do hope 2012 is a successful year for you and urge you to send articles and notices for inclusion in the e-news.
