2026 Annual Meeting
Discovery, Mentorship and Adaptive Learning in an Evolving Healthcare Environment
Friday, March 27, 2026 to Sunday, March 29, 2026
The University of Washington Husky Union Building (HUB) – Seattle, Washington
(4001 E Stevens Way NE, Seattle, WA 98195 – Directions)
Key Dates to Add to your Calendar:
- Abstracts will be open for submission: July 2025 – November 2, 2025
- Lodging Opens: July 2025
- Registration Opens: October 2025
- Deadline to book your lodging: February 24, 2026 (or when block sells out)
- Annual Meeting: Friday, March 27, 2026 to Sunday, March 29, 2026
We look forward to seeing you in Seattle!
Registration Fees
- AUA Members = $350.00
- Non-Members = $400.00
- Non-Member Trainee = $150.00
- President's Reception Guest = $55.00
Cancellation Policy: Cancellations received through February 27, 2026 will receive a full refund. Cancellations received from February 28, 2026 through March 26, 2026 will receive a refund less a $200 administration fee. Refunds will not be given after March 26, 2026. Cancellation of a meeting registration must be submitted in writing. Refunds will be determined by date written cancellation is received at the AUA Office in Milwaukee, WI.
Agenda
Discovery, Mentorship and Adaptive Learning in an Evolving Healthcare Environment
Friday, March 27, 2026
Pre-Meeting Event: Fundamentals of Professional Mentoring
11:00AM - 1:45PM
Harriet W. Hopf, MD
Susan Martinelli, MD, FASA
Daniel Saddawi-Konefka, MD, MBA
Move beyond instinct-based mentoring to develop a structured, evidence-based approach that transforms relationships. This interactive workshop equips both novice and experienced mentors with coaching skills to avoid the common pitfall of immediate advice-giving, instead fostering mentee-driven goal exploration through curiosity and active listening. You'll learn to distinguish between mentoring, advising, sponsoring, and coaching—and master when to use each approach. Leave with practical frameworks, a comprehensive 60-page workbook, and immediately applicable skills that will deepen trust, increase effectiveness, and make your mentoring more rewarding for both you and your mentees. We encourage all AUA members to take advantage of this opportunity as you all serve as mentors in at least one capacity. There is no additional fee to participate, but advance registration is required.
Design of New Protein Functions Using Deep Learning
2:00PM - 3:00PM
David Baker, PhD
2024 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry
Proteins mediate the critical processes of life and beautifully solve the challenges faced during the evolution of modern organisms. Our goal is to design a new generation of proteins that address current-day problems not faced during evolution. In contrast to traditional protein engineering efforts, which have focused on modifying naturally occurring proteins, we design new proteins from scratch to optimally solve the problem at hand. Increasingly, we develop and use deep learning methods to design amino acid sequences that are predicted to fold to desired structures and functions. We produce synthetic genes encoding these sequences and characterize them experimentally. In this talk, I will describe several recent advances in protein design.
Saturday, March 28, 2026
Sessions to include: Keynote, Panels, Awards, Poster Sessions and Annual Member Reception and Dinner.
This year's Annual Member Reception and Dinner will be held at the Burke Museum with private access to their galleries.
Breakfast
7:00AM - 8:00AM
President's Welcome Address
8:00AM - 8:15AM
Dolores B. Njoku, MD
Keynote: Don't Stop Believin': Navigating the Mid-Career Science Journey
8:15AM - 9:15AM
Julie Bastarache, MD
Professor of Medicine, Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology; Assistant Vice President for Clinical & Translational Scientist Development; Director, Edge for Scholars; Division of Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine; Vanderbilt University Medical Center
In this session, Dr. Bastarache will discuss the unique challenges faced by mid-career scientists at academic medical centers. Drawing from the literature and her own experience as both a physician scientist and director of the Edge for Scholars Program, Dr. Bastarache will provide insight on how to thrive during the mid-career while maintaining the joy of scientific discovery. Attendees will leave the session with a new perspective on the mid-career stage.
Educational Advisory Board Panel: The Evolution of Medical Education
9:15AM - 10:15AM
Moderator: Arna Banerjee, MD, MMHC, FCCM
Calvin Gruss, MD, MS, MSACI
Elizabeth Sinz, MD, MEd
Lawrence F. Chu, MD
EAB Awards Presentation (Education Innovation Award) & LAB Awards Presentation (Mentoring Award)
10:15AM - 10:30AM
Break and Discussion Time
10:30AM - 11:00AM
Host Program
11:00AM - 12:30PM
Moderator: Deepak Sharma MBBS, MD, DM
The Art of Healing: Poetic Inquiry and Creative Methodologies in Medicine
Heidi van Rooyen, PhD
William H. Foege Endowed Chair and Professor, Department of Global Health, Schools of Public Health and Medicine, University of Washington
This presentation explores poetic inquiry and other arts-based methods as transformative approaches to healing, research, and social justice in medicine. Drawing from Arts, Power, and Health: Critical Arts-Based Methods for Global Health, I position poetic inquiry as both a form of research and a political response—a means of attending to pain, inequality, and care through creative expression. Arts-based programs in medicine engage participants’ innate creativity to alleviate suffering, foster empathy, and strengthen connection. By integrating poetry, music, performance, and storytelling into medical education and practice, such approaches revitalize relationships between clinicians and patients, enrich institutional cultures, and open new ways of knowing. This talk invites reflection on how the arts can help medicine listen differently, act ethically, and care more deeply.
An overview of Microsoft's Philanthropic AI for Health Program and the Promise and Peril of AI in Healthcare
William B. Weeks, MD, PhD, MBA
Director, AI for Health, AI for Good Lab, Microsoft
Dr. Weeks will provide an overview of Microsoft’s philanthropic AI for Good Research Lab, articulate how artificial intelligence has and can be used to care and health outcomes for patients and populations (particularly for the vulnerable and those living in resource-poor environments), and present guidelines for avoiding pitfalls of the use of AI in that work.
Lunch and Networking
12:30PM - 1:00PM
Poster Session
1:00PM - 2:00PM
Oral Abstract Presentations
2:00PM - 2:45PM
SAB Awards Presentation (Top Abstracts)
2:45PM - 3:00PM
Scientific Advisory Board Panel: Funding Your Research Program: There's More Than One Fish in the Sea
3:00PM - 4:15PM
Moderators: Creed Stary, MD, PhD and Brant M. Wagener, MD, PhD
3:00PM - 3:20PM: Federal Funding – Charles W. Emala, Sr., MD, MS
3:20PM - 3:40PM: Industry Funding – Michael A. Gropper, MD, PhD
3:40PM - 4:00PM: Foundations Funding – Max Kelz, MD, PhD
4:00PM - 4:15PM: Other Funding – Meghan B. Lane-Fall, MD, MSHP, FCCM
MEB Awards Presentation (Lifetime Achievement Award; Active Member of the Year Award)
4:15PM - 4:30PM
Membership Reception, Dinner & Night at the Burke Museum
6:00PM - 9:00PM
There is no additional fee for AUA members to participate. Guest tickets available for $55 each.
Sunday, March 29, 2026
Sessions to include: Keynote, Panel and Annual Business Meeting.
Women in Academic Anesthesiology Breakfast Presentation
Executive Coaching: A Strategic Tool for Leadership Development in Academic Anesthesiology
7:00AM - 8:00AM
Cynthia A. Wong, MD
Elizabeth Duggan, MD MA
Karen J. Souter, MB, BS FRCA PCC
All are invited, but please RSVP for headcount with your registration.
Breakfast
7:15AM - 8:15AM
President's Session: Getting to Outcomes: The Accreditation, Teaching and Learning Triad
8:15AM - 9:15AM
Elisa Crouse, MD, MS, FACOG
Senior Vice President for Institutional and Program Accreditation at the ACGME
Leadership Advisory Board Panel: Why Mentorship, Coaching, and Sponsorship Matter to Your Academic Career
9:15AM - 10:15AM
Moderator: Ted Sakai, MD, PhD, MHA, FASA
Robert Whittington, MD
Zarah Antongiorgi, MD
Joseph Szokol, MD, JD, MBA
Break
10:15AM - 10:45AM
Business Meeting and Open Discussion
10:45AM - 11:15AM
Moderator: Dolores B. Njoku, MD
Lodging Information
The AUA has secured discounted lodging for the 2026 AUA Annual Meeting. You can now make your reservations.
Graduate by Hilton Seattle
4507 Brooklyn Ave NE
Seattle, WA, 98105
(Directions to HUB on Google Maps)
Guest Room Rates: Starting from $199 plus tax
Group Block Closes: February 24, 2026
Book your reservations online here.
Call for Abstracts
The AUA Annual Meeting focuses on academic anesthesiology and accepts scientific abstract submissions. AUA submissions are eligible for Abstract Award presentations, Top Oral Abstract presentation, or as posters to be viewed in person during the AUA meeting.
Note: The AUA Annual Meeting does not accept medically challenging case reports.
Deadlines
July 2025: Abstract site opens
December 3, 2025: Abstract submissions due, 11:59 p.m. EST
January 2026: Abstract submitters receive submission status notification
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