Neuroscience 2022: Together Again
With a palpable sense of joy, neuroscientists from around the world gathered in San Diego November 12-16, 2022, for the first in-person SfN Annual Meeting since 2019. Nearly 23,000 attendees reunited in front of posters, side by side in the lecture hall and session rooms, and while strolling the sold-out Exhibit Hall.
A virtual platform complemented the returned in-person sessions, providing an opportunity for nearly 1,400 attendees to engage with Neuroscience 2022’s programming remotely. More than 30 events, including the four Presidential Special Lectures, were streamed live. Virtual posters, Featured and Special Lectures, and a sampling of symposia/minisymposia were available on demand for a month following the meeting’s conclusion, after streaming live during the meeting. Between in-person and virtual participants, more than 12,000 abstracts were presented by neuroscientists from 72 countries.
New this year was the ability for both virtual and in-person audiences to submit questions to presenters via the Neuroscience 2022 mobile app. Moderators in the sessions selected from among the questions and speakers answered many of them live. More than 3,300 questions were submitted via the annual meeting mobile app. Also new were Neuroscience Meet-Ups, which offered communities of neuroscientists the opportunity to come together outside of the formal meeting programming; there were 13 Neuroscience Meet-Ups held in San Diego.
"Between in-person and virtual participants, more than 12,000 abstracts were presented by neuroscientists from 72 countries."
Many popular sessions and events were again available in person. More than 100 graduate schools participated in the Graduate School Fair, educating trainees about their programs. Featured Panel Sessions such as Dual Perspectives, the Storytelling Session, and Basic-Translational-Clinical Roundtables all drew sizable crowds. Meet-the-Expert and Meet-the-Clinician-Expert sessions were held throughout the annual meeting, and each of these presenters will be participating in a follow-up webinar. Registration for these webinars is available now on Neuronline and is complimentary for SfN members.
SfN-Sponsored Socials offered the opportunity for those in specific neuroscience fields to gather in person. The Art of Neuroscience booths remained as popular and fashionable as ever. The SfN store in the Exhibit Hall ran out of Neuroscience 2022-branded tote bags and numerous other items, clearly capturing the desire many attendees had to bring a piece of the meeting home with them.
The return of the largest physical gathering of neuroscientists also saw the return of journalists to cover the meeting. Highlights from Neuroscience 2022 were covered by the BBC podcast “All in the Mind,” NPR, Scientific American, Inverse, and several other publications.
