I am writing this letter to you, my first letter of 2021, from a place of hope and gratitude. Hope? Well, the reasons for that are likely obvious and shared by all – so let me talk for a minute about the gratitude. We are a relatively small organization with a really big vision. So just how does one achieve freedom from infections for all children with a full-time staff of three? It helps that we have a very talented and dedicated team! We are also strengthened by our partnerships with a number of organizations, including IDSA, SHEA, AAP, ESPID, ANZPID, WSPID, and others. Because of the generosity and commitment of St. Jude, we are able to co-host the premiere meeting in North America devoted entirely to pediatric infectious diseases. If you have not yet registered for this year’s meeting, you can do so here.
At the end of the day though, our activities, our advocacy and our education efforts are powered by you, our members. I am incredibly thankful for all of the volunteers who serve on our committees, review for our journal, plan and present at our meetings, and organize educational offerings like the newly launched “Virtual Case Conference of the Immunocompromised Child.” If you missed this week’s presentation by Boston Children’s Hospital fellow Fatima Al Dhaheri, check it out here. Now, more than ever, time is a precious and limited resource and our members collectively contribute thousands of hours annually to the Society in support of our strategic aims.
We’ll be launching several new initiatives in 2021 in response to member requests, so please watch the newsletter for details. If you haven’t yet had a chance to renew your membership, please do that soon so we can continue to keep you informed about the work of the Society. If you want to take a more active role in PIDS but are not sure how to get involved, feel free to email me directly at Kristina.bryant@louisville.edu.
Improving the health of children worldwide through philanthropic support of scientific and educational programs.
