Dear Colleagues,

Just like the profession of pathology and laboratory medicine, the ASCP Annual Meeting is in transition. The theme of ASCP’s 2010 Annual Meeting is “Your bridge to the future of pathology and laboratory medicine.” The 2010 meeting also represents a bridge between the annual meetings of the past and an all-new ASCP

Annual Meeting to be launched in 2011. As always, the 2010 meeting will serve the educational needs of pathologist and resident members. This year’s meeting expands learning opportunities for laboratory professionals by integrating the successful ASCP Leadership Exchange alongside the scientific education sessions. Pathologists looking to improve their management and leadership skills will benefit from these new programs, as well. In 2011, ASCP will build on this concept of special educational tracks for pathologists, residents, and laboratory professionals – all while creating ample opportunity for networking with colleagues as well as interaction among the diverse segments of the ASCP membership.

I am especially pleased to announce that the 2010 Annual Meeting will open with a plenary session presentation by Harald zur Hausen, MD, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2008 for his discovery of human papilloma viruses causing cervical cancer. With health care reform on everyone’s mind, the meeting will dedicate a special session to health policy and ASCP’s advocacy work on your behalf.

Other special programs will address the:

• Workforce shortage

• Future of the profession

• Expanding role of the laboratory in affecting patient outcomes and cost containment

• Convergence of technology, public policy, and innovation

• Impact of advances in the electronic medical record

E-Posters are a new feature of this year’s meeting. In addition to on-site poster presentations, select posters also will be published online. Last year’s Opening Session Luncheon – featuring live comedy and video highlights of ASCP successes during the previous year – set the tone for a lively, engaging and dynamic meeting. This year’s opening session will bring that same sort of excitement and energy, and each day will begin with a unique plenary session of its own.

I look forward to seeing you October 27-31, 2010, in San Francisco and urge you to put the 2011 Annual Meeting/XXVI World Congress of the World Association of Societies of Pathology and Laboratory (WASPaLM), October 19-23, 2011, in Las Vegas, on your calendar now. You won’t want to miss either one.

Sincerely,

Mark H. Stoler, MD, FASCP

President

For more information visit: www.ascp.org/2010annualmeeting