FAQs

The ACG 2018 Annual Meeting will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The Philadelphia Marriott Downtown is the official ACG headquarters hotel. ACG has secured special room rates at nine hotels in close proximity to the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Access the official housing bureau of ACG 2018.

The meeting will be Friday, October 5 through Wednesday, October 10. Friday starts with a choice of two full day programs (Practice Management Course or the ASGE Endoscopy Course), or two half-day programs (GI Pathology and Imaging or What’s New in GI Pharmacology). Click here for more information on the Friday Courses. Saturday and Sunday, October 6-7 is the Postgraduate Course. Click here for more information. The ACG 2018 Annual Scientific Meeting begins Sunday, October 7^th with an Exhibit Hall Opening Reception at 5:15 pm for all attendees and guests, and will run until Wednesday, October 10 at 12:15pm. Learn more about the Annual Scientific Meeting.

Yes, presenting authors whose abstract has been accepted for either oral or poster presentation must register as an attendee. Please note that ACG 2018 Annual Scientific Meeting registration is free for all ACG members, as well as for Residents and Trainees who provide a letter from their Program Director verifying status.

We recommend wearing business casual attire and comfortable shoes. Presenters typically dress more formally. Meeting rooms are often cool, so layered clothing is recommended. October temperatures in Philadelphia typically reach the mid-60s°F (about 18°C) during the day, and the 50s°F (about 11°C) in the evening.

Food can be purchased at concession stands in the Exhibit Hall on Monday and Tuesday during the lunch break. Information about other food options in the Convention Center will be available in the coming months.

People registering for any of the optional Learning Lunches or Breakfast Sessions will be able to indicate a preference for a vegetarian, Kosher, or gluten-free meal in the online registration process. Please contact registration@gi.org with any questions.

Attendees of ACG 2018 who need additional reasonable accommodations or who have special needs should contact registration@gi.org no later than September 12, 2018.

Information about baggage check at the Convention Center will be available in the coming months. In the event there is no baggage check option at the Convention Center, attendees will need to make arrangements to check bag at their hotel, or keep it with them during sessions. ACG staff are not responsible for lost or stolen luggage.

Yes. Information about the ACG’s Job Forum will be available on the ACG 2018 Meeting website in July. There will be an online component of the Job Forum, where employers can post jobs and attendees can search jobs. On-site at ACG 2018, the Job Forum will be located in the Exhibit Hall, and will be open when the Exhibit Hall is open. Computers will be set up to allow employers to post jobs and attendees to search for jobs. If you are an employer attending the meeting, potential employees can contact you to set up a time to meet while in Philadelphia.

The Convention Center will have complimentary Wi-Fi in the meeting spaces. Information about the network and password will be provided to all attendees on-site.

Yes, included with your registration is access to the course presentations via the ACG 2018 Meeting app. Learn more about the ACG 2018 Meeting app.

With the app, you will have full access to all available slide presentations for each course for which you have registered. The app also contains a fully searchable schedule of events, list of program participants, abstracts, maps, exhibit information, and more.

In addition, the app will sync with a personal itinerary that meeting attendees will be able to create using the online Itinerary Planner. The Planner will open later in the Spring.

Later this year, you will be able to create an account in the Itinerary Planner that will allow you to select presentations and events to build your own personal itinerary, making it easy to prioritize your time at the conference by planning your on-site activities in advance. Once you have created an account, you will be able to access your itinerary at any time using this site, and can continue to add or remove programs to update your itinerary.

Once the mobile app is available and you have downloaded it, you can synchronize your itinerary to the app and your itinerary will be available on your mobile device for you to use on-site at the meeting in Philadelphia. You will also have the option to allow the app to add each course or session to your personal calendar.

Information on how to access the app, from both Google Play and Apple app stores, will be e-mailed to all registrants by early October.

In addition to the Exhibit Hall Opening Reception on Sunday evening, which is open to all registered attendees of the Postgraduate Course or the Annual Scientific Meeting, there will be various Sunday evening receptions. Registered attendees of the Postgraduate Course or the Annual Scientific Meeting are welcome to attend these receptions as well. The always-popular GI Jeopardy competition will be held Saturday, following completion of the Postgraduate Course. Full details are available in the Special Events section of the site.

Attendees and their families will find plenty of attractions in and around the Philadelphia area. Visit www.discoverphl.com.

Information about tours will be available in late spring/early summer.

Yes. There is an hourly charge for child care. More information can be found on the child care page.

Special GI Fellows-in-Training-focused offerings at the ACG 2018 include the Trainees Luncheon, Career Opportunities for Women in GI Luncheon, and the Navigating, Networking and Negotiating Your First Job Workshop, as well as the popular GI Jeopardy competition. Full details are available on the Fellows-in-Training Events page.

Physician participants in any of the Friday courses, the Postgraduate Course, or the Annual Meeting may earn MOC points in the ABIM’s MOC program. MOC points awarded will be equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for each activity. Following each course, participants who wish to obtain MOC points must successfully complete the CME course evaluation and the MOC assessment available on the meeting evaluation site. Full instructions will be provided to meeting attendees at the time of the course. Learn more about credits/points for specific activities.

All Postgraduate Course attendees will receive a copy of the printed Self-Assessment Test as part of their course registration.

In addition, any ACG 2018 attendee can purchase the online version of the 2018 Self-Assessment Test (access available beginning September 11, 2018). Attendees receive special pre-meeting discount pricing until Friday, September 28, 2018. After that date, the Online Self-Assessment Test can be purchased through the ACG website at full price. Learn how to purchase the SAT.

Registration for all hands-on endoscopy sessions, including the GI Fellows Only sessions, will take place on-site. Details about the sessions and registration times can be found here.

The Three-Day Clinical Review includes registration to the Friday morning GI Pathology and Imaging Course, the Friday afternoon What’s New in GI Pharmacology Course, plus the two-day Postgraduate Course on Saturday and Sunday. Learn more about the Three-Day Clinical Review.

Yes, there will be a Speaker Ready Room where speakers can pick up their registration badge and materials and check their presentations. All speakers are requested to check-in at the Speaker Ready Room at least one day before their presentation, and speakers must review their slide presentations. In addition, a mock podium setup will also be available so speakers can practice using the AV system. The Speaker Ready Room will be located in Room 126A, close to ACG Registration in the Broad Street Atrium section of the Convention Center.

Yes, dues can be paid on-site at the Registration Desk for the current or upcoming year.

We will not be able to accept membership applications at the meeting. Please fill out the online membership application.

Attendees using the app can elect to share their contact information with other app users, and can also be messaged directly from within the app. The list of app users can be found in the People Tile in the app.

The 2019 ACG Annual Meeting will be held in San Antonio, Texas, October 25 – 30, 2019.

No, you do not need to be a member of the ACG to attend. Everyone with an interest in the fields of gastroenterology or hepatology is welcome to attend. There are registration categories for members and non-members.

Yes, Annual Scientific Meeting registration is free for all ACG members, as well as for Residents and Trainees who provide a letter from their Program Director verifying status. Discounted rates are available for all of the other courses as well.

Your registration fee includes entrance to the course(s) for which you are registered, a copy of the Final Program book, and a reusable tote bag. In addition, you will have access to the meeting app which will provide access to all available slide presentations for each course you are registered for.

No printed syllabus materials or USBs will be available. All registered attendees will have access to the course presentations via the meeting app. The app also contains a fully searchable schedule of events, list of program participants, oral and poster abstracts, maps, exhibit information, and more. A printed Final Program book will be provided to all registered attendees. Registrants will receive the Final Program book, which includes a listing of all sessions and posters as well as other useful on-site information.

Continental breakfast in the morning and beverage service during program breaks will be available for registered attendees of any of the Friday courses, and for the Postgraduate Course on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday and Sunday Learning Lunches and Breakfast Sessions on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings include food at a nominal charge and require separate registration. The Exhibit Hall Opening Reception on Sunday evening, open to all registered attendees of the Postgraduate Course and the Annual Scientific Meeting, will feature complimentary hors d’oeuvres and refreshments.

No, we only offer registration for the entirety of either event.

Membership is NOT included in your registration fee. Please visit the ACG website for more information on joining or visit the ACG Booth in the Exhibit Hall during the meeting for a membership application.

No. All registrations much be completed online.

Yes, please visit the Registration Desk, located in the Broad Street Atrium section of the Pennsylvania Convention Center, to register on-site. If you have not registered online on or before September 28, please register on-site.

Beginning on Friday, October 5, at 6:00 am, attendees who pre-registered can pick up badges and registration materials at the Registration Desk, located in the Broad Street Atrium section of the Pennsylvania Convention Center. On-site registration will be open at that time as well.

Speakers (including oral abstract presenters) should go directly to the Speaker Ready Room (Room 126A, adjacent to ACG Registration) to pick up their registration badge and materials, and check their presentations.

If there are available seats, admission to an optional event can be done at the Registration Desk. Seats are limited, so some events may be sold-out in advance. Please contact the Registration office with any questions. Email – registration@gi.org.

Yes. Guest badges can be requested at no extra charge when you complete your registration. A guest badge allows access to the Exhibit Hall and entrance to the Exhibit Hall Opening Reception, but does not allow access to any of the courses or scientific sessions. If your guest wants to attend any of the courses or scientific sessions, they must register at a separate fee.

Registration cancellations must be emailed to registration@gi.org by September 12, 2018. You must provide an explanation. You will be charged a $50 administrative fee for cancellation of any paid event. Refunds, less the $50 administrative fee, will be processed after the meeting. After September 12, 2018, no refunds will be possible.

Once you have completed your registration for ACG 2018, you will receive a receipt/confirmation e-mail. The e-mail will outline the courses and any optional events that you have registered for, as well as show proof of payment. If you do not receive this e-mail upon completion of your registration, please contact registration@gi.org or call 301-263-9000.

Group Meeting Registration is reserved for groups of 6 or more registrants. If you have any questions about group registration, please email registration@gi.org or call 301-263-9000. There are no discounts for group registrations.

ACG has reserved rooms at a meeting rate at nine hotels in close proximity to the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The Marriott Philadelphia Downtown, located at 1201 Market Street, will be the official ACG headquarters hotel.

Book your room now through the housing website. We strongly recommend you book your housing through this website. Reservations will be accepted until September 12, and are subject to availability. You will receive a confirmation email from the hotel when you complete your reservation.

Meeting Sites Resource is the official housing bureau for ACG 2018. We strongly recommend you book your housing through this website. Do not book with any housing bureau that contacts you directly. Meeting Sites Resource will never contact you unsolicited. ACG 2018 and Meeting Sites Resource cannot guarantee that other housing companies are legitimate and cannot guarantee your reservation at ACG 2018 if you book outside of the official housing bureau.

We recommend attendees fly into Philadelphia International Airport (PHL).

Depending on your citizenship and what country you are coming from, you may need to allow several months to get a visa for travel to the U.S. Visit the ACG 2018 website’s International Travelers page for details. Please visit the U.S. Department of State for specific travel information.

Please consult your U.S. Embassy or local Consulate to determine visa requirements for entry to the U.S. ACG 2018 provides several documents as proof of your intended participation in the conference. Once you have completed your registration for ACG 2018, you will receive a confirmation e-mail containing a link to a personalized Letter of Invitation. Please note that ACG 2018 cannot provide Letters of Invitation to individuals that have not fully registered for the conference.

A variety of ground transportation is available at the airport, such as rental car services, taxi, and shared ride services, such as Uber or Lyft.

There is self-parking available at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, located at 1324 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. Visit www.conventioncenterparking.com.

The abstract deadline is Monday, June 25, 2018, at 11:59 pm, Eastern Daylight Time. Abstracts will not be accepted after this time. No modifications, additions, corrections, or changes of any kind, either to the abstract or authors information, will be permitted after submission.

Submit abstracts here. Download the submission instructions for complete details.

No. You must register for the ACG 2018 Annual Meeting separately. This is required if your abstract has been accepted for either oral or poster presentation.

Notification of abstract acceptance as an oral or poster presentation will be sent via e-mail to the presenting author of a submitted abstract in late July, 2018. Presenting authors will be notified of the assigned date and time of presentation in the acceptance email. No changes in dates or times will be permitted.

Sometimes a presenting author’s e-mail address is entered incorrectly. If the email address is correct and is still active in July, the organization’s spam filter may have flagged the notification email. You must provide an e-mail address that will be in use throughout July, otherwise notification may not be received.

To withdraw your abstract, please email abstracts@gi.org, and provide the following information: Abstract title, presenting author’s full name, submission ID (found on the abstract confirmation receipt).

Yes, late-breaking abstract submissions will open in August. Late-breaking abstracts are considered only for oral presentation and NOT as posters, and must not have been submitted during the earlier abstract submission period. Details will be available in the summer on this website.

Yes, there will be a Speaker Ready Room where all speakers can pick up their registration badge and materials, and check their presentations. All speakers should check-in at the Speaker Ready Room at least a day before their presentation, and speakers must review their presentations. In addition, a mock podium setup will also be available so speakers can practice using the AV system. The Speaker Ready Room will be located in Room 126A, close to ACG Registration in the Broad Street Atrium section of the Convention Center.

Abstracts accepted for oral presentation will take place on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, October 8-10. Oral presenters whose abstracts are scheduled for Monday morning, October 8, will have 9 minutes to present, with 3 minutes for audience questions. All other oral presenters will have 7 minutes to present, with 3 minutes for audience questions.

Yes, presenting authors of accepted posters must be stationed at their poster during their designated 75-minute period on the day their poster is scheduled for display. Presenters will be able to discuss their work with any interested attendees. Abstracts accepted for poster presentation will take place in the Exhibit Hall on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, October 7-9, and accepted posters will be scheduled for display on one of those days.

All poster presenters will display their poster on their assigned day. Set-up, removal and display times are as follows:

*Any posters left after the Exhibit Hall closes each day will be removed and placed on a table near the poster boards. Any posters remaining once the Exhibit Hall closes on Tuesday will be discarded.

All poster sessions will be in the Exhibit Hall. Presenting authors will receive the assigned date and time of their poster presentation, along with the assigned poster number, when acceptance notifications are sent out in July. No changes in dates or times will be permitted.

Each presenter is responsible for putting up and removing his/her own poster material. Poster set-up hours will be 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm on Sunday, and 8:30 am – 10:30 am on Monday and Tuesday. Authors will need to wear their registration badge to enter the Exhibit Hall, as it will not be open to attendees during the poster set-up times. All poster boards will be located in the rear of the Hall.

Posters should remain on display until 6:45 pm on Sunday, 4:45 pm on Monday, and 4:30 pm on Tuesday. The College cannot be responsible for these materials and any posters not removed at the end of the daily sessions will be discarded.

Due to a record number of posters this year, the size of the poster boards has changed: boards will be 6 ft wide x 4 ft high (183 cm wide x 122 cm high). The poster should be sized to fit within these dimensions. Pushpins will be available at each board. Each poster board will display the assigned poster number.

We will again partner with Learners Digest, a scientific poster printing service. This online service will print and ship posters directly to the Convention Center for poster presenters to pick up on-site near the Registration Desk. Poster presenters will be notified once the site is open. Poster presenters are not obligated to use this service.

If you are the presenting author for two or more posters being displayed during the same poster session, you may ask a co-author to be present at one of the posters during the time you are required to be stationed with your posters. If that is not possible, we recommend posting a sign on one of the posters indicating you will be standing at a different poster, and can take questions about both posters at that location.

Follow the Meeting Hashtag #ACG2018 by visiting Twitter or by searching for “#ACG2018” in the “Explore” tab of the Twitter app on your mobile device.
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Share Your Insights: Insert #ACG2018 into meeting-related posts on all social media platforms. To learn how to sign up and get started on Twitter and other platforms, see who’s who in GI on Twitter, and more, visit the ACG Blog.

Members of the working press are welcome at the 2018 ACG Annual Scientific Meeting (ACG 2018). All scientific and poster sessions are open including plenary sessions, symposia, research and clinical forums, and postgraduate courses. Registration is free.

To register for press credentials, submit the form here or call ACG Media Staff at 301-263-9000.

All research presented at ACG 2018 is strictly embargoed until 8:00 am EDT on the first day of the Annual Meeting. For 2018, this is Monday, October 8 at 8:00 am EDT.

The embargo policy means that no news, information, results of any abstract or research finding can be released to the media or published before Monday, October 8 at 8:00 am EDT.

This embargo includes revealing anything about the results (including the title of the abstract—since often times the title indicates the finding) in a press release or “curtain raiser.”

Exhibitors, Attendees, Guests and Media are strictly prohibited from taking video or audio recording of the Exhibit Hall or any educational session or event of the meeting for publication, rebroadcast or placement on a non-ACG website or print publication without prior written permission from the ACG. Still photography is permitted only for personal, non-commercial purposes, including social media. Attendees can direct questions about the policy to ACG VP of Meetings and Exhibitions Elaine McCubbin. Members of the media should send questions to ACG Media Staff.

Press conferences at ACG 2018 sponsored by exhibitors or groups other than ACG are outside press conferences. The College requests that no group schedule a press conference at the same time as any ACG-sponsored Media Briefings. Groups holding outside press conferences are responsible for securing their own space, but are welcome to coordinate with ACG VP of Meetings and Exhibitions Elaine McCubbin to try to identify an appropriate venue. As a courtesy, please notify ACG of plans to hold a press conference at ACG 2018 by either calling the ACG Office at 301-263-9000 or by emailing ACG Media Staff.

ACG Media Staff will notify registered press about updates regarding newsworthy abstracts. Reporters can learn about newsworthy abstracts at ACG 2018 by visiting the ACG Blog in late Summer 2018. If you have a question, please email ACG Media Staff.