02/29/2012
Vance Taylor

When most people think of Las Vegas, attending a medical conference isn't exactly what comes to mind (I guess most people just aren’t into white smocks). However, this week I'm in “sin city” (along with my lovely wife) for the express purpose of attending the Muscular Dystrophy Association's 2012 Clinical Conference. It may not be the hottest thing on the strip, but bringing together hundreds of the world's greatest neurologists, cardiologists and pulmonologists to advance the treatment and eradication of neuromuscular diseases is its own kind of sexy.

My role at the conference will be to serve as the eyes and ears of the patient community (somebody’s gotta keep all those doctors in check). In attending the sessions, I hope to gain a better understanding of the work and progress being made by the clinicians who serve on the front line in the war against neuromuscular diseases. In addressing participants (which I will do on Tuesday), I hope to expand their horizons regarding the capabilities, achievements and aspirations of the populations they serve.

I will be blogging daily about my experiences.

To better prepare for the conference, I spent some time reviewing the agenda and thinking about what the week has in store. Here are my initial reactions:

1. Nerd alert! Heaven only knows how many combined years of postgraduate education will be gathered together at the conference, but with sessions on exhilarating topics like Genetics and Neuromuscular Diseases, Immunology and Targeted Therapies — they’re going to need all the brainpower they can muster to keep up with the conversation!
2. MDA’s commitment to excellence. The level of effort required to put together a conference like this is huge. The scope and scale of the event is profound, and the outcomes will impact countless lives. This conference underscores MDA’s core mission and highlights the Association’s high standards.
3. Transparency. In a day when far too many organizations conduct their programs in a vacuum, MDA is making active strides to share its work with others (hence my blogging on their public website). Being open and honest keeps you (and the rest of the world) “in the loop” while providing the opportunity to offer feedback and engagement through an open dialogue.

With all this (and more) to look forward to, you can bet that what happens in Vegas this week won’t stay there. And that makes us all big winners.