President's Message

Dear ISPD Community:

I hope this newsletter finds you well. ISPD has had a very busy few months, highlighted by our 27th International Conference in Edinburgh, UK, 18-21 June 2023. The conference, chaired by Drs. Anna David and Sandi Deans, attracted over 600 attendees with over 430 joining us in person at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. A huge thanks to all our speakers, poster presenters, exhibitors and industry partners, and attendees for joining us for a valuable four days discussing the latest in prenatal diagnosis and therapy. Please make plans to join us in Boston, MA, USA, 7-10 July 2024!

All members are invited to attend the upcoming General Business Meeting of Members, which will be held at 9 AM Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday, 26 September 2023. This meeting will discuss the latest plans the ISPD Board has for the Society and review how the Society has weathered the COVID pandemic over the past few years.

During this meeting, I will talk more about the strategic goals the Board has set for the next three years:

  1. Engage with trainee members and offer them valuable career support and education.
  2. Support SIG Co-Chairs to expand programs for their members.
  3. Expand presence and increase engagement on social media by creating content flow for posts with volunteer committee.
  4. Create more leadership, educational, and networking opportunities for members from underrepresented regions.
  5. Expand online educational offerings for members through Education Fund.
  6. Engage and involve Corporate Council members on use of Education Fund.
The Board has actions identified under each of these six focus areas. If you have ideas for ways to help meet these strategic goals, please contact Ms. Alison Cockrell, CAE, our Executive Director at acockrell@ispdhome.org or +1.434.284.4688. A separate invitation will be issued to all members for the General Business Meeting.

You may have seen a call for volunteers for our social media team, the Journal Club team, and the Membership Committee. Please consider stepping up to help ISPD in these areas. More information is available here.

Finally, the Virtual Education Series will be resuming in the coming weeks, so please watch your email for information on the individual webinars. Topics planned focus on what to tell the prospective parents and include sex chromosomes, abnormal genitalia, tuberous sclerosis, infections, cystic fibrosis, lymphatic and vascular malformations, prenatal genetic testing (overview of technologies), and renal abnormalities.  

Thank you for being part of our community, and we look forward to your continued participation.

My warmest regards,
Professor Mahesh Choolani