For the second year, the Drug Delivery to the Lungs conference will take place virtually as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The conference will include both live and recorded scientific presentations, live discussion sessions, and a digital exhibition happening online December 8-10. The meeting will open at 10:00 a.m. UK time on each of the three days, and the live presentations will begin at 11:00 UK time.
Organizers have done their best to return most of the traditional types of DDL content to the conference this year, says DDL Conference Organizer Sheila Coates, who credits support from the meeting’s sponsors to make the virtual meeting possible: “Our sponsors are absolutely brilliant; they are so supportive, and we’re so grateful to them because we couldn’t do it without them. It means a lot that they care enough about DDL to support us until we can get back together.” According to Coates, organizers expect to hold an in-person conference next year and plans for the return to Edinburgh in 2022 are already underway.
Unlike 2020, industry and academic attendees will pay a nominal registration fee to attend DDL 2021. As in past years, registration for student attendees remains free of charge. Although it will be possible to register after the start of the conference, Coates notes that delegates who want to attend the live lectures should be sure to register at least one day in advance because there will be a 2-hour delay between when a registration form is submitted and when the delegate is admitted to the meeting platform. Registration is now open.
This year’s conference will differ from the DDL 2020 “Christmas Lectures” in a few ways, notably with the return of the Pat Burnell Award presentations. In addition to the return of the Pat Burnell Award, DDL 2021 will continue its presentations of the DDL Annual Lecture and the Emerging Scientist Award as part of the scientific program. The winners of the Pat Burnell Award and the Emerging Scientist Award will be announced on the morning of December 10, and the Emerging Scientist Award winner will then present a lecture.
The DDL Lecture, which is described as “a prestigious accolade bestowed on individuals who have contributed much to the field of respiratory science,” will be presented by Sabine Häussermann of VisionHealth whose talk is titled, “Digitalization in respiratory medicine, where are we heading to?”
On each day of the conference, a series of flash presentations will follow the talks by invited speakers; delegates will then have the opportunity to interact with the presenters and with each other during a live discussion session hosted by the New Researcher Network, which launched at DDL 2019. The full conference program can be viewed on the DDL 2021 web site.
Although the virtual exhibition will operate on a different platform than the 2020 exhibition, it will continue to offer opportunities for vendors and delegates to interact one-on-one, including by video chat. Some exhibitors will be offering videos about their products and services in addition to brochures and meetings with company representatives. Approximately 50 exhibitors are currently expected to participate and companies can still sign up to sponsor the meeting/have an exhibition stand until the 17th of November.
Exhibitors confirmed for DDL 2021 include:
