Washington, DC, July 31, 2009—AACC held its 2009 Annual Meeting and Clinical Lab Expo July 19-23 at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, IL, in conjunction with the Canadian Society for Clinical Chemists. The Annual Meeting featured some 200 educational sessions covering the latest developments in laboratory medicine and attracted over 18,000 physicians, scientists and others involved in laboratory medicine in hospitals, universities, and private laboratories. The number of attendees is preliminary until those who registered on site are recorded, but the 2009 attendance held up well, especially in light of today’s economy where other professional meetings are down by 20%-30%. International participation was particularly strong, with delegates and exhibitors from almost 100 countries. The Clinical Lab Expo maintained its position as the largest event of its kind in the world with 663 companies exhibiting in 1,793 booths—a 3% increase over AACC’s 2005-2008 average of 1,736—and provided an opportunity to see new science and technology in all areas of clinical diagnostics, automation, information systems, point-of-care, OEM, and biotech.
AACC will be holding its 2010 Annual Meeting July 25-29, 2010, in Anaheim, CA, with another slate of excellent speakers and sessions. AACC invites reporters to check the association web site for updates on the meeting.
For more information about either the 2009 or 2010 Annual Meetings, reporters should contact Peter Patterson at the above-referenced telephone numbers or at ppatterson@aacc.org.