The
101st Annual Southern Division Meeting took place in Columbia, South Carolina, February 26–29, 2024.
2024 Meeting Dates to Remember
December 13, 2023
January 22, 2024
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Presenter Registration Deadline – Presenters of submitted abstracts must register by this date to prevent abstracts being pulled from the program.
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Early Registration Deadline – Regular registration rates begin on January 23, 2023!
January 26, 2024
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Scientific Program and Student Competition Notification Deadlines – Participants in the scientific program, Graduate Student Research Award Competition, and Graduate Student Poster Competition will be notified as to abstract acceptance as an oral or poster presentation and/or participation in the Graduate Student Research Award Competition or Graduate Student Poster Competition.
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Nomination Submission Deadline:
Graduate Student Representative – Submit nominations to Rebecca Melanson (rebecca.melanson@msstate.edu). Please include “SD-APS Graduate Student Representative Nomination” in the subject line.
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Award Notifications Deadline – Scholarship applicants will be notified of the decisions of their application.
February 1, 2024
- Hotel Reservation Deadline – This is the last day to reserve a room in the room block at the Hilton Columbia Center at the negotiated rate. Rooms are available at this rate until filled. Other nearby hotels are listed on the hotel information page if rooms at the Hilton Columbia Center are no longer available.
February 8, 2024
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Registration Deadline – Deadline to register for the SPDN Workshop, Careers 101 Workshop, Graduate Student Business Meeting & Networking Event, and Conquering Congaree!
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Regular Registration Deadline – Late registration rates begin on February 9, 2024!
February 26–29, 2024
- 101st SD-APS Annual Meeting in conjunction with SPDN and NCAC14/SAC11
Meeting Highlights
Graduate Student Research Competition
Tuesday, February 27, 2024; Times TBD ET
Tune in for the highly anticipated Graduate Student Research Competition!
For general information about the competition, please visit the
Graduate Student Research Award Competition webpage.
Graduate Student Poster Competition
Tuesday and Wednesday, February 27–28, 2024; Times TBD ET
Posters will be available for viewing throughout the meeting.
For general information about the competition, please visit the
Graduate Student Poster Competition webpage.
Poster Technical Session
Tuesday and Wednesday, February 26–27, 2024; Times TBD ET
Posters will be available for viewing throughout the meeting.
Careers 101 Workshop: Cover Letters 101
Tuesday, February 27, 2024; Time TBD (over lunch); Cost: FREE (registration required)
Cover letters often serve as the first page of job applications and are the first thing that future employers see. They demonstrate a candidate’s qualifications, help put the CV into context, and showcase candidates written communication skills. This workshop includes evaluation of effective and ineffective cover letters, as well as practice creating cover letters. Lunch will be provided. Workshop is intended for early career professionals, postdocs, and students. Registration by February 8, 2024, is required to participate in this workshop.
For more information about this event, please contact: Nicole Gauthier (
ngauthier@uky.edu)
Graduate Student Business Meeting & Networking Event
Tuesday, February 26, 2024; 5:15 PM ET – 7:00 PM ET; Cost: FREE (registration required)
Get to know your fellow graduate students and post-docs and discuss the role and future goals of graduate students and postdocs within the Division. Be sure to join in to learn the results of the Graduate Student Representative election and meet your new Graduate Student Representative! Registration by February 8, 2024, is required to participate in this event.
Join meeting attendees for an evening of networking while viewing posters from SPDN and SD-APS members of ongoing work. Refreshments and hors d’oeuvres will be available.
Symposium: Perspectives from Persevering
Wednesday, February 28, 2024; 8:00 AM ET – 9:30 AM ET
Invited speakers will share perspectives and experiences of navigating difficult situations.
Industry Symposium
Wednesday, February 28, 2024; 10:00 AM ET – 11:30 AM ET
The success of the annual Southern Division APS meeting is highly dependent on sponsors! Join us in this session as we give the floor to our sponsors.
Business Meeting
Wednesday, February 28, 2024; 11:30 AM ET – 1:30 PM ET
Join your SD-APS colleagues for the official business meeting led by the SD-APS Executive Committee to review the Division business and hear an update from APS Council.
Oral Technical Session
Wednesday, February 28, 2024; 2:00 PM ET – 5:00 PM ET
The scientific program continues with oral presentations from membership throughout the Southern Division!
Awards Banquet
Wednesday, February 28, 2024; 6:00 PM ET – 9:00 PM ET
Join your SD-APS colleagues for the final night awards banquet to recognize our scholarship recipients, student competition winners, 2024 Outstanding Plant Pathologist, and 2024 Donald M. Ferrin Memorial Service Award recipient. Be sure not to leave before the highly anticipated reading of the 2024 SD-APS Meeting Resolutions!
Conquering Congaree!
Thursday, February 29, 2024; 8:00 AM ET – 1:00 PM ET; COST: $25
Join fellow plant pathologists as they explore the trails of Congaree National Park! Congaree National Park is one of 63 designated national parks in the National Park System and the only NPS national park in South Carolina. Congaree National Park is approximately 0.5 hours from Columbia. We are expecting to carpool from the hotel to the park. Lunch will take place at an agreed upon location, either barbecue 10 minutes from the park or back in Columbia.
Registration by February 8, 2024, is required to participate in this event. At least 10 attendees must be registered by the deadline; otherwise the tour will be canceled and registrations will be refunded. There is also a limit of 20 attendees for this tour. Tour is also subject to cancellation due to inclement weather.
SPDN Business Meeting and NPDN Accreditation & Professional Development
Monday, February 26, 2024; 1:30 PM ET – 4:30 PM ET; Cost: FREE (registration required)The Southern Plant Diagnostic Network will convene with a short business meeting then shift to progressing through lab accreditation and professional development online modules. This working meeting will include time to work on individual lab documents and professional development learning paths within LearnUpon. The objective of the working time is to make definitive progress on accreditation documentation for all SPDN labs. Participants should bring laptops and questions.
Registration by February 8, 2024, is required to participate in this workshop. This meeting and workshop are for SPDN members only. For more information, please contact: Carrie Harmon (
clharmon@ufl.edu).
NCAC14/SAC11 Meeting
Thursday, February 29, 2024; 8:00 AM ET – 5:00 PM ETThe North Central (NCAC14) and Southern (SAC11) advisory committees, which consist of plant pathology department heads/chairs or other similar administrators, will have a joint meeting in 2024. The objectives of these groups is to (1) identify priority areas for multistate research, (2) perform critical evaluation of ongoing multistate research, and (3) exchange information, coordinate, and make plans according to matters of common concern (
https://www.nimss.org/projects).
This meeting is for NCAC14/SAC11 members only. For more information, please contact NCAC14 chair, Steven Harris (
stevenh1@iastate.edu).
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