By Scott Gayzik
AAAM is pleased to announce that the organization will again be hosting the annual Student Symposium and Mentoring Session on Sunday, October 15. The symposium has become a highlight of the annual meeting in recent years as it gives attendees a first look at emerging research in our field and provides a welcoming forum for young investigators to present their work. Like the annual meeting, it will be hosted at the Vdara Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Student Symposium hosted by AAAM will include emerging findings presented by current M.S., Ph.D. and M.D. students in the field of automotive medicine and accidental injury research.
This year’s edition of the Student Symposium will contain thirteen presentations from eight leading research universities and medical centers, representing five countries (Canada, France, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States). A diverse range of research topics will be covered, including presentations on traumatic brain injury, injury code mapping, EMS response time and finite element based human modeling, to name a few. The format of the symposium is similar to the main conference program, with presentations followed by audience question and answer sessions.
Immediately following the Student Symposium, the organization will also be hosting a “speed mentoring” session. In this session, students and young faculty taking part in either the Symposium or the main conference program will have the opportunity to sit down for brief, round-robin style mentoring talks with attendees of the annual meeting. Each year this session is regarded as a rewarding experience for those who participate on both the mentor and mentee side of the table. Topics of discussion typically range from which career path to pursue to more general queries such as how to manage one’s work-life balance. Annual meeting attendees are encouraged to participate in both of these exciting offerings.
The organization is currently calling for mentors for the speed mentoring session, so if you would like to participate please contact Scott Gayzik for more information or sign up to be a mentor when you register for the conference (online opens next month). Registration to the annual meeting covers both sessions. Please plan to arrive early to take advantage of these exciting opportunities and to have a chance to meet some of the rising stars in our field.