The first step in the Call for Symposia process is to share your idea with your colleagues and look for collaborators. We recommend you post your idea on the ISHLTconnect forum for your Professional Community (PC) to see if other members are interested in the topic—and to share it in a different Professional Community from yours to look for multidisciplinary collaboration.

We also encourage you to send your idea to the Steering Committee of the Interdisciplinary Network(s) (IDNs) most related to the topic (AHFTX, ALFTX, MCS, or PVD) to seek input on the idea or help identify other collaborators.

IDNs and PCs are encouraged to collaborate to generate content ideas for symposium proposals. This can be done via ISHLTconnect, email, or through Zoom meetings. ISHLT staff is available to assist in setting up Zoom meetings—send an email to Juliet Osazemwinde, Governance and Communities Administrator, at juliet.osazemwinde@ishlt.org.

Only ISHLT members may submit symposia for consideration for the 2023 ISHLT Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions. Proposals submitted by non-members or members who are employed by industry will not be considered.

The site to submit symposia proposals opens the week of 6 June, 2022. All members will receive an email with the link, which will also be posted on the ISHLTconnect Open Forum.

The final proposal must be submitted online through the OASIS system by 30 June, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

Speaker priority is given to ISHLT members. You are strongly encouraged to select current ISHLT members as speakers. Non-members may be replaced by the Program Planning Committee (PPC) if they believe there is an ISHLT member with comparable experience. If a non-member speaker is proposed, justification for that speaker must be provided in the space provided on the submission site.

The PPC will evaluate all submissions and decide which symposia will be included in the 2023 meeting. Before doing so, volunteer proposal reviewers will review, rank, and comment on submitted proposals specific to their core therapy. Proposals will be returned to submitters for further revision, if needed, based on feedback from reviewers. Final submitted proposals will be turned over to the Program Planning Committee in August, along with reviewer feedback to assist them in prioritizing symposia of the highest importance by content.

The PPC will evaluate proposals for multidisciplinary representation, content priority, as well as a variety of diversity factors, including gender, internationality, and early career representation. The PPC may modify proposals based on these factors to ensure the highest quality symposia for inclusion in the scientific program.

Yes. All submitters will be notified via email on the outcome of their proposal submission by 30 September.

Submissions that are not accepted for ISHLT2023 will be evaluated by the ISHLT Education Oversight Committee and considered for use in future ISHLTv webinars, online learning, and standalone educational programming.

ISHLT staff is here to help through the entire process. Please reach out with any questions that you have.

Education:
Susie Newton, Scientific Programs Manager (susie.newton@ishlt.org)
Sue Bessner, Director of Education and Research (sue.bessner@ishlt.org)

Schedule IDN/PC Zoom Meetings:
Juliet Osazemwinde, Governance and Communities Administrator (juiet.osazemwinde@ishlt.org)