Robust, record-breaking AAD meeting draws more than 19,800 to San Diego
If you were at the 2024 AAD Annual Meeting in San Diego this year, you were part of history. At the close of the meeting, the unofficial attendance number was 19,828, almost 1,000 more people than the previous record (18,830) set in San Diego in 2018. Medical personnel totaled 9,975 while non-medical personnel numbered 2,429. Residents had a strong showing as well, with more than 2,500 attendees. Total exhibitor attendance was more than 6,900, and a record number of press was in attendance.
Attendees took in more than 300 sessions offered in San Diego, including late-breaking research, hot topics, live demonstration and hands-on sessions, and lectures and presentations by experts on important topics for all practicing dermatologists.
Plenary
On Sunday, March 10, attendees were at the AAD/A Annual Business Meeting, featuring presentations by outgoing president Terrence A. Cronin Jr., MD, FAAD, and Secretary-Treasurer Daniel D. Bennett, MD, FAAD, talking about the AAD/A’s state of affairs. A quorum was established within minutes of its 8 a.m. Sunday start time, despite the time change the night before, and throughout the morning the massive room continued to fill with those eager to attend a much-anticipated plenary session. Hours before William Shatner packed the house and chatted onstage with Dr. Cronin, attendance was literally (and we mean literally) wall-to-wall to hear from Henry W. Lim, MD, FAAD, who gave the Clarence S. Livingood, MD Award and Lectureship; Brian J. Druker, MD, who presented the Lila and Murray Gruber Memorial Cancer Research Award and Lectureship; Brian S. Kim, MD, MTR, FAAD, who gave the Marion B. Sulzberger, MD Memorial Award and Lectureship; and Patricia A. Treadwell, MD, FAAD, who presented the John Kenney Jr., MD Lifetime Achievement Award and Lectureship. There were also inspiring messages of unity and navigation of the future of the Academy by Dr. Cronin and incoming president Seemal R. Desai, MD, FAAD.
Resident events
There was plenty for residents and ample board exam pearls, included in Boards and Beyond and Boards Blitz. On March 9, the prestigious Fox Awards were given to up-and-coming researchers at the Resident and Fellows Research Symposium. New Jeopardy champions were also announced on March 9.
Inside “Sails”
To get from point A to point B in the convention center, one often had the pleasant experience of passing through the sunny Sails Pavilion, where you could take your picture with the large AAD letters photo op (the line for this often exceeded 100), or you might have spent some time viewing e-posters, including the 2024 award-winning e-posters. It was also the “hot spot” for the Academy’s new Firefighter Skin Cancer Checks program.
Exhibit Hall and AAD Resource Center
As usual, there was plenty of buzz and activity on the exhibit floor (with more than 350 exhibiting companies) and at the AAD Resource Center, which hosted many fun and informative events including a Your Dermatologist Knows event, a Board Prep Plus question bank test drive, complimentary professional headshots, a Dialogues in Dermatology podcast where you could meet the editors, DataDerm™ drop-in hours, a Coding Power Hour, and several days offering “A Taste of AAD Innovation Academy,” promoting the upcoming 2024 AAD Innovation Academy Meeting Aug. 1-4 in Seattle.
Very socially acceptable!
You couldn’t have missed it. There was more activity on social media than ever before for the 2024 AAD Annual Meeting, with over 4,200 uses of the #AAD2024 meeting hashtag, and posts from all types of attendees, from medical students to residents, general dermatologists, subspecialists, session speakers/directors, exhibitors, and more. Almost 500 attendees participated in the daily @AADmember giveaways with with prizes totaling $2,000. The eight lucky winners were:
Day 1: $100 Amazon gift card: Taylor Duke, MD; Adina Greene
Day 2: $200 Amazon gift card: Hasina Maredia, MD; Marie-Claire Jarvis, MD
Day 3: $300 Amazon gift card: Dara Spearman, MD; Chris Torres, MD
Day 4: $400 Amazon gift card: Benny Wu, DO; Kenneth Tsai, MD
Want to know what attendees said about the meeting? More than 200 people responded enthusiastically on Instagram to an @AADmember post requesting a one-word description of the record-breaking event, with effusive responses ranging from “stellar” and “inspiring” to “motivating” and “mind-blowing.”
