The world’s largest diabetes conference brings together investigators, health care professionals, and educators dedicated to improving the lives of people living with diabetes. These experts will share the latest developments in the research, prevention, and care of the disease during the 85^th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association® (ADA) this summer in Chicago, and attendees will have the opportunity for real-time engagement with panelists on the array of timely topics being presented.

“It’s an exciting event to go to,” said Scientific Sessions Meeting Planning Committee Chair Mark A. Atkinson, PhD. “First and foremost, meeting attendees will hear the latest on scientific and medical advances on a wide range of topics related to diabetes. This meeting is also designed to be interactive, affording the opportunity to meet colleagues from around the globe, and in terms of the Exhibit Hall, to see what new advancements are occurring in diabetes care and disease management.”

The meeting, with attendees representing 120 countries, will take place June 20–23 at the McCormick Place Convention Center. Online registration is underway and on-site registration will open June 19.

This year’s Scientific Sessions Meeting Planning Committee, with more than three dozen members, was intentional about creating an environment for dialogue, whether during the traditional question-and-answer periods at educational sessions, in quiet spaces in the Exhibit Hall where people can sit down and converse, or on stage as one of the five pre-selected finalists for the Innovation Challenge.

The latter event has grown significantly since its inception and highlights the passion of the diabetes community for overcoming the everyday problems faced by people with the disease, their families, and their caregivers. In the challenge, at 4:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, representatives of emerging companies in the field will pitch their novel ideas to transform diabetes care to a panel of expert judges and a live audience of professionals. Three winners will be awarded cash prizes to help fund their proposals.

“Expect to see fresh faces with fresh new ideas,” Dr. Atkinson said, noting this philosophy extends beyond the Innovation Challenge. “The organizing committee placed significant effort to diversify the speakers at this meeting. Namely, we have younger and older speakers, males and females, and individuals from around the world having different specialties from the most basic of topics, to translational efforts, and on to clinical medicine.”

Additional details on speakers, sessions, special events, ADA resources, the Exhibit Hall, and more can be found in the Online Planner.

“As the Planning Committee chair, I feel responsible that, from the most inexperienced trainee in the field of medicine to the most senior individual, when people leave the Scientific Sessions, they feel it was a great investment in their time,” Dr. Atkinson said. “If an attendee takes knowledge back to whatever they do in diabetes, whether it be podiatry, exercise, pregnancy, or the most basic bench work studying gene regulation, if it helps someone with diabetes, the meeting will have been a success.”

As a regular attendee of the Scientific Sessions throughout the past 40 years, Dr. Atkinson has some advice for achieving that level of satisfaction:

• Explore the Online Planner using your topics of interest to help organize your daily itinerary.
• Review the layout of the McCormick Place Convention Center in the meeting app, which will be available for download May 13, to know where session rooms and other activities are located.
• Plan to attend the whole meeting. Sessions begin at 10:30 a.m. Friday with the Welcome to the 85^th Scientific Sessions and end with a full slate of concurrent sessions starting at 3:15 p.m. Monday.

“After the meeting, many of the sessions will be available online for 60 days,” Dr. Atkinson noted. “Those would be good if you can’t attend, but I think the experience of being there in the session room to ask questions and meet other people—that will allow for a much more enjoyable experience.”

On-demand access to recorded presentations will be available to registered participants following the conclusion of the Scientific Sessions, from June 25–August 25.