Networking Opportunities

The Virtual Meeting will host several features that allow attendees to connect! Some activities that meeting attendees will be able to jump into:

Session participants will be able to chat during each live sessions – a huge hit amongst attendees in 2020!
Virtual chat rooms on topics that can be created by you, the attendee!
Interactive networking events hosted by ASHG, October 12, 13, and 14
Ancillary events including educational sessions, receptions, and fun hosted by related groups and industry partners
And more!

We are alarmed and concerned that unregistered participants hacked an exhibitor’s event this morning and presented offensive content. We deplore this hateful speech and have a meeting code of conduct to help promote a respectful and welcoming environment. For the time being, we have removed links to today’s events from our public web pages/online planner so that we can work with partnering organizations to help them assess any needed security protocols in their virtual events and promote a safe and welcoming meeting experience. We will post updates and new links on this page when appropriate.

View Networking Opportunities in the Online Program Planner

View the list of Networking Opportunities at ASHG 2021

Inspiration Lounges – Meet the Speakers

Tuesday, October 19 through Thursday, October 21 – 5:00-5:30 p.m. daily

Continue the conversation by joining speakers and moderators from this invited session to ask follow-up questions or share your thoughts on the research discussed. Joining the virtual inspiration lounge is a great way to connect with your colleagues to network and share what you learned.

Please join by accessing the Zoom link from inside the virtual meeting platform. Find the Inspiration Lounges under ‘Program then ‘Sessions’

Tuesday, October 19

5:00 PM – 5:30 PM EDT

Meet the Speakers Inspiration Lounge: Defining target genes in complex disease: A roadmap to precision medicine

Speakers: Laura Fachal, Judy Cho, Yang Luo, Nikos Panousis, Robert Plenge, Tuuli Lappalainen

Tuesday, October 19

5:00 PM – 5:30 PM EDT

Meet the Speakers Inspiration Lounge: Leveraging 150,000 whole genome sequences from the UK Biobank to transform pharmaceutical research

Speakers: Mary Helen Black, Bjarni Halldórsson, Katherine Smith

Wednesday, October 20

5:00 PM – 5:30 PM EDT

Meet the Speakers Inspiration Lounge: N-of-1 precision medicine in the era of antisense oligonucleotide therapeutics

Speakers: Timothy Yu, Wendy Chung, Stan Crooke, Robert Brown, Maarika Kimbrell, Annemieke Aartsma-Rus

Wednesday, October 20

5:00 PM – 5:30 PM EDT

Meet the Speakers Inspiration Lounge: Stakeholder perspectives on ethical and social implications of using clinical polygenic risk scores through embedded ELSI research

Speakers: Noura Abul-Husn, Ellen Clayton, Maya Sabatello, Sabrina Suckiel, Anna Lewis

Thursday, October 21

5:00 PM – 5:30 PM EDT

Meet the Speakers Inspiration Lounge: Cross-ancestry genomic research: Time to bridge the gap

Speakers: Sandra Sanchez-Roige, Hae Kyung Im, Yanyu Liang, Tian Ge, Minoli Perera, Janitza Montalvo-Ortiz

Thursday, October 21

5:00 PM – 5:30 PM EDT

Meet the Speakers Inspiration Lounge: Workforce diversity in genomics: Equity and the meaning of inclusion

Speakers: Sandra Lee, Stephanie Fullerton, Vence Bonham, Nanibaa’ Garrison, Consuelo Wilkins

Ancillary, Industry Events, & University Receptions

Events sponsored by groups outside of ASHG, such as business meetings, receptions, industry meet-and-greets, or networking/social hours. Some highlights include:

PGRN 2021 Symposium, October 18
NHGRI Funding Opportunities, October 18
Parse Biosciences – Networking and After Hours Fun, October 19 – 7:00-8:00 pm
Community Open House with National Academies Roundtable on Genomics and Precision Health, October 20
Nanostring After-Hours Fun event, October 20 – 7:00-8:00 pm
QIAGEN After-Hours Fun event, October 21 – 7:00-8:00 pm
University of California San Francisco Gathering, October 21 – 8:00-9:00 pm

Check out the full listing via the Online Planner. Click Program –> Session Type Meeting Events + Networking Events to see all the listings. Listings are added weekly!

Chat during Virtual Meeting

There are a few ways you can chat with fellow meeting attendees during the virtual meeting:

Chat feature during all sessions – similar to 2020, you can chat with fellow attendees of each particular scientific sessions plus submit questions to speakers;
Chat directly with colleagues and industry partners 1:1 within the platform using the built-in networking features on the Virtual Meeting platform. Tutorial to come!
Chat Channels will feature some general topics where attendees can sound off, plus attendees can create their own chat topics, based on what’s happening and what’s exciting during the meeting!

Schedule Meetings and Video Chats Outside of Sessions

Using the Networking feature within the Virtual Meeting platform, you can connect with your colleagues and industry partners via chat and video meetings. You can even schedule them ahead of time or on the fly.

“Schedule a Meeting” feature allows you to request a meeting with a fellow attendee, if they have opted into meeting networking. Keep an eye out for a tutorial/walkthrough!

Or if you’ve had a lively chat discussion with one or more colleagues within a session and want to continue, you can create a video chat room and invite those colleagues to join you and continue the conversation!

You can update your profile page with your preferred first name, pronouns, title/position, and institution/company affiliation. You can even toggle networking capability on and off depending on your availability. You’ll also be able to access favorited sessions, speakers, and industry partners.

Networking at Professional Development & Industry Forum Days

Network with peers and mentors from academia and industry during these special networking sessions ahead of the full virtual meeting. Admission to these sessions is included in your Virtual Meeting registration! If you would like to sign up for these – click here to add this free registration for your overall Virtual Meeting Meeting registration.

Professional Development Networking: Perfect Your Elevator Speech (Non-Industry Careers), October 12 – 10:30 am-12:00 pm
Industry & Biotechnology Careers Panel, October 13 – 12:30-1:30 pm
Professional Development Networking: Perfect Your Elevator Speech (Industry Career-Focused), October 14 – 12:30-1:30 pm

More information on Professional Development & Industry Forum here.

Poster Engagement Day

Monday, October 18

A day dedicated to posters including sessions, talks, and networking opportunities!

All posters have an interactive chat box.
Five poster sessions with 350 authors per session, spanning many time zones:
- Poster Session A: 9:30am – 10:30am
  Poster Session B: 11:30am – 12:30pm
  Poster Session C: 1:30pm – 2:30pm
  Poster Session D: 3:30pm – 4:30pm
  Poster Session E: 5:30pm – 6:30pm
Four poster talks, highlighting 20 of the best-scored abstracts per session!
On-demand posters available during the full week of the meeting.

ASHG Connect Community

Are you ready to start discussing the Virtual Meeting now with fellow members? Check out ASHG Connect and join the Annual Meeting Community! This community is for open conversation for members/meeting attendees to engage, ask questions, prepare for ASHG 2021.