SPER Highlights from the 2016 Epidemiology Congress of the Americas

Immediately following the 2016 SPER Annual Meeting, the 4^th Epidemiology Congress of the Americas was held. For the first time, SPER was an official sponsor of the Congress, joining the American College of Epidemiology (ACE), the American Public Health Association (APHA), the International Epidemiology Association (IEA), and the Society for Epidemiologic Research (SER).

SPER’s sponsorship of the Epi Congress allowed the society to play a more formal role and actively engage in the planning and execution of the Congress. This involvement allowed us to expose the benefits of SPER membership to a wider audience, with the goal of continuing to grow as a society. We “sweetened” the deal with an ice cream cart at the SPER booth at the Congress!

SPER sponsored a symposium, “A Critical Period? Fetal Exposures and Adult Health”, chaired by Samantha Parker and Martha Werler. The symposium included three speakers – Abigail Fraser, Edwina Yeung, and Pam Factor-Litvak – who covered fetal exposures such as maternal health during pregnancy and environmental exposures, and outcomes including early childhood development.

The presidents of each sponsoring society were asked to give a presentation, and on the final day of the Congress, Suzan Carmichael delivered the SPER Presidential Address during the morning plenary session.