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Dear ANA Members,
Earlier this month, we celebrated Independence Day, and we in Philadelphia appreciate its significance as we are home to Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. We are also known for America’s first banks, first daily newspaper, first public library, first collegiate school of business, first professional schools for women, and more. We hope you will come and discover all that Philadelphia has to offer while attending ANA2023! Please join us September 9 – 12, 2023, at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown. I am thrilled for the opportunity to connect with my ANA colleagues and friends right here in my hometown!
ANA2023 is Just Weeks Away – Are you registered? We are only seven weeks away from ANA2023, but the early bird registration date is quickly approaching. Please register by Friday, August 4, 2023, to enjoy reduced registration rates. Another way to save money is to ensure you are a member of the ANA. Being a member provides significant savings on the Annual Meeting registration. The cost of registration plus the cost of annual dues is less than the cost of registering as a non-member in every registration category. You can join or renew your membership today to ensure you receive the lowest registration rates for ANA2023. |
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Another thing we are proud of in Philadelphia is the number of academic medical centers located here. This week, we invited medical and graduate students, associates, and faculty from all these centers to join us to learn more about the ANA and ANA2023. The event was organized by the ANA Local Arrangements Subcommittee and orchestrated by Dr. Nadine Goldberg, ANA’s Chief Program Officer with support from Janki Amin, ANA Membership Coordinator. It was an outstanding event! With more than 50 people attending, we enjoyed great networking and engagement with students from several academic medical centers across Philadelphia. |
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The ANA is intentional about investing in students and junior and early career neurologists and neuroscientists, and this event is just one example of our commitment to those entering the field. Knowing this, I reached out to the Executive Committee this week and asked if the ANA could extend a complimentary membership and registration to ANA2023 to all the medical students who had attended the event to learn more about the ANA. The answer was a resounding yes! Our leadership believes in removing barriers to ensure students have access to world class education and connection to the leaders in academic neurology. I appreciate the Executive Committee for their support, and I appreciate the local academic medical centers who joined with me to underwrite the costs associated with the local networking event. |
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Disability Pride Month Another significant event in July is the celebration of Disability Pride Month. On July 26th we commemorate National Disability Independence Day as it is the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). As neurologists and neuroscientists, we recognize that neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders are a leading cause of disability. People with disabilities remain underrepresented in the biomedical workforce, and we celebrate those who are working in medicine and neurology making significant contributions and discovery and those who support the advancement of people with disabilities. |
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We have highlighted several individuals on the ANA website, and today we are highlighting three ANA members from the Disability Advocacy Group (DAG) at Penn Neurology, part of the Neurology Department's IDARE (Inclusion, Diversity, Anti-Racism, and Equity initiative) which spans the University of Pennsylvania and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. DAG was co-founded by Drs. Mihir Kakara, Laura Stein, and Danielle Barber in 2022 for the advocacy, education, and research related to disability equity for both neurologists and patients with disabilities. The broad goal of this group is to highlight disability and accessibility as an integral and intersectional part of all diversity and inclusion initiatives and recognize the disabling effects of environment, attitudes, and stigma. I am proud of this group and the work they do right here at the University of Pennsylvania. You can learn more about their activities, goals, and commitment to advocating for people with disabilities on the ANA's website. |
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Look for a New Episode of ANA Investigates on Monday! On Monday, July 24, look for the new ANA Investigates Fetal Therapy podcast on the ANA website. This podcast will feature a conversation with Dr. Jennifer Cohen, a pediatric medical genetics physician-scientist at Duke University Health System about the relatively new field of fetal therapy. Interviewed by Dr. Adeline Goss, host of ANA Investigates, Dr. Cohen will walk us through the potential benefits of in-utero enzyme replacement therapy and other cutting-edge approaches to treating genetic neurologic conditions. |
In Case You Missed It, the ANA Released a Great Program on Neurogenetics The ANA recently launched a great learning program on neurogenetics. ANA Highlights Neurogenetics is a bite-size learning module series designed to close the knowledge gap about the current state of neurogenetics and the applications of genetic testing. Chaired by my good friend and colleague, ANA’s President-Elect Dr. M. Elizabeth Ross, the program is comprised of four chapters in the following topics and includes short (~15 minutes), pre-recorded videos. Following this activity, the ANA expects learners to be more confident in their ability to:
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I encourage you to enjoy this program and share it with your network of colleagues, faculty, and students so that others can gain insightful knowledge and information.
The countdown is on for ANA2023, and the summer days are quickly passing. I hope you are enjoying warm sunshine and summer fun. I also hope you are enjoying all that the ANA has to offer you as a member and that you are taking advantage of all the resources, information, and benefits we have to offer. I appreciate you being part of this amazing network of academic neurologists, and I hope to see you in Philadelphia in September!
Sincerely, |
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Frances E. Jensen, MD, FACP, FANA President, American Neurological Association Arthur Knight Asbury, MD Professor of Neurology Chair of the Department of Neurology Co-Director Penn Medicine Translational Neuroscience Center Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania |