{"id":9109,"date":"2019-03-03T18:20:12","date_gmt":"2019-03-03T23:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/?p=9109"},"modified":"2019-03-03T20:53:07","modified_gmt":"2019-03-04T01:53:07","slug":"a-few-thoughts-on-the-day-before-croi-our-best-and-quirkiest-scientific-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/a-few-thoughts-on-the-day-before-croi-our-best-and-quirkiest-scientific-meeting\/2019\/03\/03\/","title":{"rendered":"A Few Thoughts on the Day Before CROI — Our Best (and Quirkiest) Scientific Meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I’ve written here numerous times, the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections — or “CROI” (rhymes with “toy”) — is the best of the scientific meetings on HIV. It starts March 4 in Seattle.<\/p>\n

Bringing together the perfect blend of clinical, translational, and epidemiologic research, CROI consistently boasts the highest\u00a0density of worthwhile content in any of our meetings. Even in years with no major breakthroughs, scientists present numerous studies that move the field forward in important ways.<\/p>\n

So yay for CROI. I’m a huge fan, never miss it.<\/p>\n

But … it has always had its unusual<\/em> qualities, some of them lovable, others just … quirky.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

1. You have to apply.<\/strong> All meetings require registration — name, address, affiliation, other demographic data — but only CROI asks for a list of publications. While no one is rejected based on their lack of productivity (I hope), this process always makes me feel weird. Is there a panel going through this list, looking at citations, impact factors, h-index, Altmetric scores?<\/p>\n

At least they no longer ask\u00a0for my MCATs and kids’ APGAR scores.<\/p>\n

(Kidding.)<\/em><\/p>\n

2. Distinctive swag.<\/strong> Upon registering, you are handed a stylish backpack, emblazoned with the letters CROI, the name of the city, and a graphic of a virion. Refreshingly free of pharmaceutical advertising, the bags are nice enough that my (APGAR-approved) children periodically carried them to school, garnering either mystification or, very rarely, an insider acknowledgment from other HIV specialists (or their kids).<\/p>\n

But there’s more — inside the bags there’s a square notebook that would please even the most discerning graphic designer, and a nifty pen. The notebook sometimes has faint gridlines, in case you want to sketch out a\u00a0Kaplan-Meier plot.<\/p>\n

Did I mention the backpacks?<\/p>\n

\n

Check out the #CROI2019<\/a> backpack available at CROI check-in. pic.twitter.com\/RP6IijCaQ4<\/a><\/p>\n

— IAS\u2013USA (@IAS_USA) March 1, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n