It is hard to believe how quickly the time has passed since the extremely successful meeting chaired by Bonnie in South Carolina in March.  The level of participation at that meeting, both in terms of numbers of attendees and in quality of research presented, set new benchmarks for our still-young Society.  Kudos to Bonnie and her team!

I gulp as I write this, but my goal for the 2009 meeting is to make this even more successful.  To that end, what have I done so far?  First off, I can assure you that I read every single one of the feedback comments submitted by the attendees of the 2008 meeting and have taken them to heart.  Second, I have been to the DDW meeting in San Diego in May, talking up the DRS meeting to GI colleagues and setting out save-the-date postcards (nearly all of which were taken).  Third, I have signed the contract for the Westin in New Orleans.  You will really enjoy this fantastic venue (both hotel and city) next year.

We have come a long way since the early days of this Society and its annual meeting, when we often had to devote most of the meeting to reviews to get people up to common speed and vocabulary.  I intend to follow Bonnie's lead and push for even more original research to be presented in New Orleans.  The number of oral presentations of abstracts will be at least as many as last year, but I will expand the time to a full 15 minutes per paper for presentation and discussion.

We cannot afford to have the poster sessions be an after-thought.  To that end, I am expanding the time available for poster viewing.  This in part will be brought about by having the welcoming reception be held in conjunction with a poster viewing session, as is common in many other societies.  In addition, I intend to have a poster plenary session on the last day, wherein the top posters are reviewed by the Abstract Committee, with a chance for Q&A with the poster presenters.

We are going to have a closing awards ceremony without an awards banquet.  The costs of the banquet I fear have deterred our fiscally challenged younger investigators (and older tightwads) from attending this important ceremony.  Besides, why would you travel all the way to New Orleans to be stuck with Hotel Surf & Turf?

Because of the expanded time for original research, the time for "review" talks is at a premium.  I propose that the topics selected be at the cutting edge of research in dysphagia or introduce novel research concepts/methodology to the field of dysphagia research.  For the main meeting, I am looking to have the following:

Dodds-Donner Lecturer (45 min)
1 invited speaker session (45 min)
2 multi-speaker symposia (1 and 1.5 hr)
1 Point-Counterpoint session with two speakers taking opposing sides of a controversy in the field (1 hour)
1 (maybe 2) luncheon workshops (at least 1 for young investigators)
1 young investigator forum (1 hr)

Given the limited time for review at the main meeting, I am proposing that the appropriate role for the pre-conference is a course structure, in which the content centers on translation of clinical and basic search into clinical care.  I am proposing four 1.5 hour modules for that day, centered on GI, ENT, and SLP related topics, with the plan being to make the presentations relevant across all disciplines.

While planning this meeting, I have been thinking about some concepts from the book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, by Malcolm Gladwell. 
I realize that the DRS is full of "Connectors" (people with connections to others in diverse fields who can use these connections to cross-fertilize different areas) and "Mavens" (people with great degrees of knowledge who want to share this with others).  Of course, some people are both Connectors and Mavens.  I worry that a program planning committee cannot encompass all such valuable members without becoming unmanageably large.

So, dear members, at this point HERE IS WHAT I NEED FROM YOU:  I need the Connectors in DRS to bring to me ideas for cross-disciplinary topics of great importance to our field, along with the names of the Mavens who have the ability to communicate this knowledge to the membership at large.  Mavens who have important information to provide should make themselves known to me.  My goal is to open the program to the entire membership, with the goal of the planning committee being to select among the best proposals for the limited time slots available.  Connectors whose ideas are selected will be included on the planning committee and their contributions acknowledged during the meeting.

Frankly, time is of the essence.  I would like to hear all of your suggestions for various themes, topics, and speakers for the various sessions listed above by July 1, when I assume office as your new President.

Over the coming months, I hope to provide you with newsletter updates on how plans for the New Orleans Meeting are progressing, along with insights from our entertainment committee Chair on where to eat and what to do after hours.  I hope to introduce you to local terms that will help you navigate around the City.  The term for this newsletter is lagniappe.  To quote from Mark Twain "It is the equivalent of the thirteenth roll in a "baker's dozen." It is something thrown in, gratis, for good measure."  My intention is for these newsletters to be a bit of lagniappe as you prepare to head to New Orleans.

In closing, let me state that it is with a great sense of responsibility to the membership that I assume the presidency of DRS.  As I stated in South Carolina last March, I do not intend to be an autocrat.  But to avoid these, I need the very best of your ideas for our Society.  Let those good ideas roll my way at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or to Angela Davis at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Your humble servant,

Benson T. Massey, MD, FACP
President, DRS, 2008-2009