Dear Parasitology Friends,

The sites for Abstract submission and Registration for the Molecular Parasitology Meeting, MPM 2021 are now open. The deadline for Abstract submission is August 15. The meeting will be held October 05-09, 2021.

Go to https://www.parasitesrule.com to submit your abstract, to register, and for further information on time, location, and cost of attendance.

LMIC scientists can apply for a waiver at https://www.parasitesrule.com to take part in the virtual conference free of charge. Please do so soon and prior to attempting registration. Please help to spread the word about this opportunity.

Note that there are separate portals for i) meeting registration and ii) abstract submission that you can both reach through https://www.parasitesrule.com.

As you all know from your day-to-day experiences, predicting the course of the pandemic remains difficult. We thus are planning this year’s MPM mainly as a virtual meeting, with an onsite component at the MBL in Woods Hole. Presenters and audience will join via the internet as well as sitting in the lecture halls at MBL. Presentations as always, will be chosen from abstracts submitted by junior scientists (based on their merit and regardless of where the presenter will physically be).

At this moment the MBL restricts onsite attendance to 140, but this remains fluid. You will be able to indicate your preference for virtual or in person attendance, and we will do our best to accommodate everybody’s wishes. The MBL will make a final call on numbers closer to the meeting date. In case the in-person event is oversubscribed some attendees may have to shift from in person attendance to virtual, and we hope you will understand. In that case (or should holding an in-person meeting become not possible at all) the MBL will reimburse attendees, and attendees will be registered as an online participant. The conference will move ahead in any case.

Please note that the MBL requests all in-person attendees to be fully Covid-19 vaccinated.

See you soon at MPM – one way or another!

Nina, Manoj, Boris, and Omar

mpmmeeting@gmail.com

Check back soon

This Code of Conduct covers the in-person, virtual (online) or hybrid Molecular Parasitology Meetings (MPM). MPM conferences may include keynote presentations, concurrent sessions, live poster Q&A, workshops, conference-related Slack channels, and Q&A via Zoom chat.

Updated July, 2021 (adapted from the Genetic Society of America policy)

MPM fosters an international community of parasitologists and provides opportunities for scientific discussion and collaboration. To make this experience productive and welcoming to all, and to foster open communication we ask you to adhere to MPMs code of conduct outlined below:

All conference participants (regardless of their role) are expected to follow the Code of Conduct while attending any portion of the conference, including but not limited to keynote presentations, concurrent sessions, live poster Q&A sessions, workshops, Zoom, email, social media and all conference Slack channels. This code of conduct applies to all modes of communication virtual or in-person.

Unacceptable Behaviors

Unacceptable behaviors include, but are not limited to:

• Intimidating, harassing, abusive, discriminatory, derogatory, or demeaning speech or actions by any participant and at all related events

• Harmful or prejudicial verbal or written comments or visual images related to gender, gender expression, gender identity, marital status, sexual orientation, race, religion, political orientation, socioeconomic, disability or ability status, or other personal characteristics, including those protected by law

• Inappropriate use of nudity and/or sexual images (including presentation slides, posters, Slack channels, or Zoom chat)

• Deliberate intimidation or stalking

• Violating the rules and regulations of the online provider, Zoom

• Sustained disruption of scientific sessions or other events

• Unwelcome and uninvited attention or contact

• Real or implied threat of physical harm

• Real or implied threat of professional or financial damage or harm

• Photographing or reproducing slides of oral presentations and posters without permission

• Recording of scientific and other sessions without permission

Taking action or making a report

• MPM organizers take any complaints seriously. If you need to report a Code of Conduct violation, please reach out to the meeting organizers.

Consequences of non-compliance

Anyone asked by MPM organizers, a Session Chair, Workshop Leader, Moderator, Presenter, or Zoom representative to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately. Retaliation toward MPM or toward someone reporting an incident or after experiencing any of the following consequences will not be tolerated and may result in additional sanctions.

The consequences of non-compliance with MPM’s Code of Conduct may include:

• Immediate removal from accessing the online meeting and Slack channels without warning

• Restrictions from future MPM meeting attendance

• Incidents may be reported to the proper authorities

Diversity and Inclusion

MPM is committed to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion to create greater opportunity for any individual to fulfil their scientific potential, irrespective of their background, gender, or circumstances. This diversity leads to innovation by attracting the widest possible talent to the community and fostering a greater diversity of ideas, approaches, and perspectives. The Organizing Committee aims to select speakers and session chairs that represent the breadth and diversity of the discipline and conference participants.

Social Media/Photo/Video Policy

Live tweeting of presentations is allowed unless the speaker explicitly opts out by stating so at the start of his or her talk. Taking or sharing photos, videos, or reproductions of posters is not permitted unless you have the presenter’s consent.

Posters

When you view poster materials at the conference, remember that posters are typically works in progress. We expect poster attendees to treat virtual posters exactly as they would in-person posters and not to cite or reproduce any part of them without permission of the presenter.

Boris Striepen (University of Pennsylvania)

Manoj Duraisingh (Harvard University)

Nina Papavasiliou (DKFZ Heidelberg)

Technical Support: Omar Harb (University of Pennsylvania)

Previous meeting organizers