THIS YEAR, WE WELCOME YOU TO NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, a city built on imagination, for the 79th annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine! This year’s ASRM Scientific Congress & Expo theme is THE PAST, THE PRESENT, THE PIPELINE. Dr. Ruben Alvero, Scientific Congress Program Chair, and Dr. Samantha Butts, Postgraduate Program Chair, and their teams have designed a comprehensive and exciting program for Congress attendees. The richness of the program is designed to address the educational and practice needs of physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, andrology and embryology laboratory personnel, genetic counselors, mental health practitioners, and practice managers, as well as practitioners in public health, allied health, law, and ethics.

OUR WEEKEND BEGINS with an exciting lineup of on-site Postgraduate Courses. The Postgraduate Program Committee has collaborated with our affiliated societies, professional and special interest groups, as well as domestic and international Society Partners, to present a wide range of multi-disciplinary Postgraduate Courses designed to meet the needs of all our members. Course topics range from ethical considerations in reproductive medicine, coding for maximum reimbursement, understanding federal regulations, self-care for providers, translating bench research into the clinical management of recurrent pregnancy, reproductive injustice, sexual health, gender identity, counseling about genetics, and growing your practice. Additionally, this year we will have a PG course taught in Spanish and will focus on the debated issues in ART. Our lineup also includes multiple hands-on courses, a social media summit, and the SREI practice retreat meeting.

In keeping with our ASRM 2023 Scientific Congress theme of “The Past, The Present, The Pipeline,” we have invited a diverse group of dynamic plenary speakers this year who will engage us in a variety of topics These include privacy in our current climate, transgender medicine, male contraception, non-hormonal contraceptives targeting AMHR2, the intersection of REI and racism, equity and inclusion, sexual function, menopause, and many more. We are finalizing a talk from one of my personal friends from the entertainment industry, who will discuss similarities between the medical world and the movie business when it comes to mentorship and developing future leaders.

The Scientific Congress Continuing Medical Education (CME) course offerings will include morning plenary and dual-afternoon lectures, symposia, and interactive sessions. You will hear innovative lectures that focus on communicating about genetics to patients, diversifying the reproductive medicine workforce, human genome editing, dietary and exercise implications on male reproduction, moving novel therapies from bench to bedside, and fertility preservation for our transgender patients. CME sessions will be complemented by non-CME activities, including intimate roundtable luncheons covering the breadth and depth of reproductive medicine. Oral and poster talks will take place throughout each day of the Scientific Congress, bringing a new format to these presentations.

We welcome our members, trainees, and colleagues from around the world to the ASRM 2023 Scientific Congress & Expo! We look forward to seeing you in person and value your participation and engagement in all the educational and networking opportunities provided.

I look forward to seeing you in the engaging historic city of New Orleans! I also hope you will join us on Sunday night, October 15, 2023, at the President’s Gala Celebration in support of the ASRM Research Institute. You won’t want to miss this Mardi Gras-themed event.

Sincerely,
Michael A. Thomas, MD
ASRM President 2022-2023