IDWeek

IDWeek
Name	IDWeek
Status	Active
Genre	Medical conference
Frequency	Annual
Location	Rotating cities in the United States
First	2013
Organizer	Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America; Infectious Diseases Society of America; Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society; HIV Medicine Association

IDWeek

IDWeek is an annual professional conference that convenes clinicians, researchers, public health officials, and policy-makers focused on infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, hospital epidemiology, and related fields. The meeting brings together members of multiple societies, industry partners, and regulatory agencies to present research, offer continuing education, and shape clinical practice guidelines. Attendees typically include physicians, nurses, pharmacists, epidemiologists, microbiologists, and trainees from academic medical centers, public health departments, and international organizations.

Overview

IDWeek functions as a multidisciplinary forum where investigators and practitioners disseminate findings from clinical trials, surveillance studies, and implementation science projects. Presentations often intersect with work from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, World Health Organization, National Institutes of Health, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and professional organizations such as the American Society for Microbiology, Association of Public Health Laboratories, American Medical Association, Canadian Public Health Association, and Royal College of Physicians. Sessions frequently reference landmark trials and entities including Randomized Controlled Trial, Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, Infectious Diseases Society of America, New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, JAMA, and BMJ. Industry symposia, poster sessions, and policy forums involve stakeholders such as Pfizer, Gilead Sciences, Merck & Co., Johnson & Johnson, Roche, AbbVie, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Sanofi, and Novartis.

History

The conference emerged from the merger of annual meetings and collaborative initiatives among specialist societies aiming to streamline programming and amplify influence. Early organizational roots trace to historic gatherings of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, as well as meetings sponsored by the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and the HIV Medicine Association. Past editions have been held in major venues associated with medical congresses in cities such as San Diego Convention Center, Moscone Center, McCormick Place, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, and Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Panels have responded to crises involving pathogens and events like the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa, the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic, the Zika virus epidemic, outbreaks linked to Candida auris, and antimicrobial stewardship challenges highlighted by the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance.

Organization and Governance

Governance is shared among constituent societies with elected councils, program committees, and volunteer sections drawing from institutions such as Johns Hopkins Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, University of California, San Francisco, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Harvard Medical School, Stanford University School of Medicine, and University of Oxford. Committees on abstract review, continuing medical education, and conflict-of-interest disclosure include representatives affiliated with agencies like Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Health Resources and Services Administration, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and advocacy groups including Doctors Without Borders, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and World Bank. Leadership roles often include presidents and chairs who have held positions within American Board of Internal Medicine, National Academy of Medicine, and editorial boards of journals such as Clinical Infectious Diseases and Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

Scientific Program and Education

The scientific program blends plenary lectures, oral abstract sessions, poster halls, workshops, and training practicums. Keynote speakers have come from institutions tied to figures like Anthony Fauci, Christian Drosten, Helen B. Boucher, Ramanan Laxminarayan, Daphne Koller, and investigators who publish in venues such as Science Translational Medicine, Cell Host & Microbe, and Nature Medicine. Educational offerings include modules on antimicrobial stewardship modeled on programs from CDC's Core Elements of Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs, diagnostics employing polymerase chain reaction platforms, genotyping with whole genome sequencing, and infection prevention protocols influenced by Joint Commission standards. Sessions frequently address clinical syndromes and pathogens including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, influenza, SARS-CoV-2, Clostridioides difficile, and multidrug-resistant organisms like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producers.

Attendance and Impact

Typical attendance ranges from several thousand to over ten thousand participants representing academic centers, public health agencies, and private practice. Delegate profiles include trainees from programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, pharmacists certified by the Board of Pharmacy Specialties, and infection preventionists affiliated with the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. Outputs from the meeting inform guideline updates by organizations such as the World Health Organization, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and Infectious Diseases Society of America, and influence policy deliberations within governmental bodies like U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and international consortia including the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership.

Awards and Recognitions

The conference confers awards and honors recognizing research, mentorship, and lifetime achievement, often named for leaders in the field and associated with institutions or prizes such as the Young Investigator Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, and society-specific distinctions administered by the Infectious Diseases Society of America, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, and Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. Recipients frequently have affiliations with universities such as Yale School of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Mount Sinai Health System, and research consortia like the HIV Prevention Trials Network.

Controversies and Critiosms

The meeting has encountered debate over industry sponsorship, conflicts of interest, and the balance between commercial exhibits from pharmaceutical firms and independent science promoted by academic and public health speakers. Controversies have paralleled discussions involving regulatory oversight from the Food and Drug Administration and transparency reforms advocated by organizations such as ProPublica and OpenSecrets. Critiques also arise regarding accessibility for clinicians from low-resource settings, echoing broader equity conversations involving World Bank, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and capacity-building initiatives funded by entities like the Wellcome Trust and Gates Foundation.

Category:Medical conferences