There are several conferences throughout the year, some tailored to specific areas of interest. If a conference is in line with your interest, you may consider becoming a member of the sponsoring society. Membership to each society differs, and added benefits of journal subscriptions or discounted rates to conferences may be included.
Attending a conference is a great way to network. You will have an opportunity to speak directly with experts in the field. Presenting your research at these conferences is another great means to meet those you may have even referenced in your work. Travel awards are often available for fellows and trainees. In addition, many committee meetings occur at these meetings so it’s a nice opportunity to meet those you’ve only met via calls. You will also have more personal opportunity to hear about potential job opportunities.
There are also often mentored sessions or programs available through some of these meetings. Also, it’s nice to meet fellows at other institutions to hear different experiences and develop friendships and future collaborations.
Brief descriptions are listed below. Keep in mind, many conferences have discounted rates for fellows, opportunities to apply for small grants to support travel, and opportunities to apply for awards. If you are a student or resident, consider applying for PIDS’ meetID program, which provides a stipend to attend a national conference, among other activities to help you explore a career in pediatric ID.
- IDWeek: Annual joint meeting of IDSA (Infectious Diseases Society of America), SHEA (Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America) and HIVMA (HIV Medicine Association) and PIDS. This is the largest ID conference of the year. Pediatric ID fellows get to attend the Pediatric Fellows’ Day, which is comprised of fellow case presentations, career development talks and networking events. If you have an interesting case, submit it! The Fellows’ Happy Hour event is held annually after the opening plenary session on Wednesday afternoon. This is an opportunity to network with other fellows and faculty over a drink. The PIDS annual meeting and PIDS Foundation Annual Dinner offer another excellent opportunity to mingle with Peds ID colleagues. Take advantage of these and other opportunities to network outside of your institution. The annual meeting is in October.
- St. Jude/PIDS Pediatric Infectious Diseases Research Conference (includes the Pediatric Transplant ID Symposium): Two meetings, held annually, for pediatric infectious diseases research in childhood infections and transplantation, with a focus on career development programming for trainees. While smaller than IDWeek, these meetings present more personalized networking opportunities for fellows and is entirely focused on pediatrics. Abstract submissions are typically due in December or early January. The meetings occur in early March.
- Annual International Pediatric Antimicrobial Stewardship Conference: PIDS Antimicrobial Stewardship Conference. This conference focuses on principles of antimicrobial stewardship with the opportunity to learn from many institutions what methods have been effective in instituting stewardship programs. Abstract submissions are typically due in March. The meeting is at the end of May or beginning of June.
- PAS (Pediatric Academic Societies) Meeting: Depending on your interests, this may have significant value. It focuses on all of pediatrics, but many infectious diseases topics naturally lend themselves to be represented here, such as immunizations, community-acquired pneumonia, and many others. Abstract submissions are due in the fall and the meeting occurs in late April or early May.
- APIC (Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology): Focused on Infection Prevention and does offer an EPI Intensive certificate. Occurs throughout the year.
- SHEA (Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America) Spring Conference: Annual conference for hospital epidemiology (includes infection prevention and control and antimicrobial stewardship). This meeting offers different tracks and the opportunity to get a Training Course Certificate in Healthcare Epidemiology or Antimicrobial Stewardship. They also offer an annual fellow’s course. Abstract submission is October. This meeting occurs in the Spring, generally end of March or early April. Every 10 years it is cohosted with the CDC called the Decennial, the next one will be in 2030.
- ASM Microbe (American Society for Microbiology): This is a meeting for clinical microbiologists, infectious disease physicians, researchers and pharmacists to attend to better improve the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. It is the annual meeting of the ASM.
- Global Conferences: WHO (World Health Organization), ESPID (European Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases) Meeting, World Congress of the World Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases(WSPID), ECCMID (European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases), CUGH (Consortium of Universities for Global Health). These meetings are also opportunities to present your research and also meet others with whom you can discuss infectious diseases and global health issues not as common in the US. Check for when meetings occur.
- HIV/AIDS Conferences: There are multiple conferences focused completely on HIV. If this is your specific interest, explore these and discuss with your mentor which are best suited to your interest and stage of training: CROI (Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections), HIVMA (HIV Medicine Association) meetings, and IAS-USA yearly conferences. Check for when meetings occur.
- APPD (Association of Pediatric Program Directors): Semi-annual (Fall and Spring) meetings focused on educating educators. This is important to consider if you plan on a career in education.
You can also look for meetings via your local and regional ID groups. This also provides opportunity to take on possible leadership roles as well as discuss cases and research relevant to where you practice.
