The Year Ahead

As many of you know, I’ve just had the honor of being named President of AST. It’s an achievement I don’t take lightly, and I wanted this opportunity to introduce some of my plans for the Society here on the AST Desktop.

We’re currently celebrating the 30th anniversary of AST. As we reflect on the significant advancements that we’ve made as a Society, I can’t help but consider all of the possibilities for the next 30 years – and more immediately, this year. We’ve had significant accomplishments during Bob Gaston’s term as President (including this blog!) and I hope to leverage more opportunities for AST to develop and grow.

First and foremost, we need to continue to focus our efforts on public policy and health care reform. Through the distinguished efforts of our lobbyists and the Public Policy Committee, AST is now recognized as a “go-to” professional organization for weighing in on nearly every issue related to transplantation.

Secondly, we must continue to grow our established strong collaborations with our fellow societies. These partnerships, which include efforts in education, maintenance of certification, research support, and once again, public policy, provide an opportunity to combine our best efforts to achieve our goals in as efficient a way as possible. More on this later in an upcoming blog.

And finally, we must continue to attract the best and brightest into transplantation. This may take the form of the Fellows Symposium, the Cutting Edge of Transplantation (formerly known as the Annual Scientific Exchange), or other opportunities to find new ways to integrate clinical and basic science and to come up with innovative programming to support these needs.

It’s been 20 years since I first became involved in AST, and through those years I’ve witnessed incredible growth in our Society, not only in numbers but also in diversity. I’ve seen the commitment that you’ve made to advancing the field of transplantation and advocating for research, legislation and patient care – a commitment that I both respect and hope to reciprocate in my role as President.

And now, I want to hear from you! Please let me know in the comments section if you have ideas for how we can make this the best, most profitable, most impactful year ever.

I look forward to your thoughts!

-Roz