JSM 2022 will be held in Washington, DC, August 6–11. This is going to be the largest in-person statistical conference held in North America since the COVID-19 pandemic started. The theme for JSM 2022 is “Statistics: A Foundation for Innovation,” which emphasizes the essential role of statistics in the era of big data and data science.

The JSM 2022 Program Committee has put together 164 invited sessions, including both paper and panel sessions. The topics of panel sessions cover areas such as teaching innovations, career development, real-world evidence in drug development, promoting diversity, the role of statistics in science and policymaking, and effective reporting of statistical results. Like previous JSMs, the topics of paper sessions are interesting and diverse, including modern statistical learning methods, precision medicine, microbiome research, causal inference, innovative clinical trial design, and advanced statistical methods.

As always, many strong invited and topic-contributed session proposals were not selected due to the extremely competitive selection process. There are still ways to get involved in the 2022 JSM program, however.

Speed Sessions

The speed session is becoming increasingly popular at JSM. It allows for an electronic poster (e-poster) presentation, which enables video and other special effects. A speed session will consist of 20 oral presentations of approximately four minutes, with a five-minute break after the first set of 10 talks. These short oral presentations will be followed by an e-poster session later. Each speed poster session will last 45-minutes.

Only for the speed sessions will the regular 110-minute contributed poster sessions be divided into two sessions. There will be 45-minutes for a first group of 20 presenters, a 20-minute transition period, and then 45-minutes for the second group of 20 presenters. The program committee tries to cluster speed session posters by topic to attract a large and focused audience.

The following incentives will be offered to presenters who participate in speed sessions:

• Electronic poster boards, so there will be no additional costs or hassle associated with printing or transporting a poster
• Ability to present orally and through an electronic poster

Here are some tips, based on experience with previous speed sessions:

• The oral component should lure people. Don’t try to be too detailed, but rather give the big picture view. A little humor helps.
• E-posters can include software demonstrations, analysis animations, videos, and interactive statistical graphics or dashboards. Take advantage of the versatility of the medium. Don’t think in terms of a static poster. Be modern and daring.

When you submit your contributed abstract, simply select “Speed” as the sub-type.

Poster Sessions

JSM 2022 is expected to take place in person. Poster sessions permit face-to-face extended discussions with individuals or small groups interested in your topic. Particular advantages are direct feedback and the ability to display extensive graphical or tabular materials, possibly in addition to a handout.

Contributed Sessions

Nearly half of JSM sessions are contributed sessions. Contributed paper sessions consist of seven papers with 15 minutes of presentation time for each, including the introduction of the speaker and questions. Contributed abstracts submission closes February 1, 2022, and a decision about acceptance will be made on March 31, 2022.

Session Chairs

Each JSM session requires a chair. The responsibilities include contacting speakers with session information before JSM and introducing speakers and managing presentation time during the session. Chairing a session is a great way for researchers who are new to the profession to build a professional network and get involved with JSM (and one can mention this service on one’s CV). Simply volunteer to the program committee members of your section or society. Contact JSM 2022 Program Chair Ming-Hui Chen with any questions.