Abstract submission is now open for the 2024 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM). Its Program Chair, Debashis Ghosh, explains the progress made on the program so far, and outlines the remaining opportunities to present your research at one the largest statistical events in the world:

JSM 2024 will be held in Portland, Oregon, from August 3–8. The theme is “Statistics and Data Science: Informing Policy and Countering Misinformation,” which emphasizes the policymaking and information dissemination goals central to statistics and data science.

The program committee has put together 166 invited sessions, including paper and panel sessions. Here is a sampling:

• Statistical Literacy in the Era of ChatGPT

• Reducing Barriers to Teaching Novice Learners How to Code

• Recent Advances in Trustworthy Reinforcement Learning

• Statistical Solutions in Pursuit of Sustainable Development

• Toward a Common Framework for Use of Real-World Evidence in Drug Development

• Data-Driven Enhancement of Diversity in Clinical Trials: Making Clinical Trials Equitable to ALL

• Preserving Scientific Freedom and Human Rights: Defending Ethical Conduct in Statistics

• Trustworthy Data Sciences

In addition to these sessions, participants will find presentations about modern statistical learning methods/artificial intelligence, precision medicine, -omics research, causal inference, network analysis, survey statistics, Bayesian methodology, and other advanced statistical methods and theoretical advances in statistics.

Many strong proposals were not selected due to the competitive selection process. We had more than 300 submissions for invited proposals, which brings me to the following points:

• Even though we have 166 invited sessions, many of these are preassigned (e.g., the IMS award lectures, ASA journal editors’ invited sessions, the Elizabeth Scott Award Lecture). I estimate the acceptance rate to be 25 percent.

• The program is organized by the 2024 JSM program committee, which represents the ASA sections, committees, and partner societies. Each representative has a certain allocation of slots and reviews session proposals that list their section, committee, or partner society as the primary sponsor. Members of the program committee did a good job exchanging proposals when it made sense, as many invited sessions fell under the purview of more than one section or society. There is also variation in how different sections choose their invited sessions.

• Every section could nominate two sessions for the invited program. From that pool, we selected 25 sessions.

• The program committee prioritized sessions that aligned with the theme, “Statistics and Data Science: Informing Policy and Countering Misinformation.” Proposals that made a strong case for how they aligned with the theme tended to get higher weighting in the review process.

• While JSM does have a “one speaker, one session” rule, a challenge the committee had to deal with was seeing people listed on several invited session proposals. We tried to be equitable and fair with this to the extent we could.

We are now reviewing topic-contributed session proposals. In the event your proposal is not selected for an invited or topic-contributed session, there are still ways to get involved in the 2024 JSM program.

Speed Sessions

Speed sessions allow for an electronic poster (e-poster) presentation, which enables video and other special effects. A speed session consists of 20 oral presentations of approximately four minutes, with a five-minute break after the first set of 10 talks. These short oral presentations are followed by an e-poster session. The regular 110-minute contributed poster session is divided into two sessions for the speed poster sessions. There is 45 minutes for the 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 are offered to presenters who participate in speed sessions:

• Electronic poster boards, so there is no additional cost or hassle associated with printing or transporting a poster

• Ability to present orally and through an electronic poster

Following 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

Poster sessions permit extended face-to-face discussion with individuals or small groups. Advantages are direct feedback and the ability to display extensive graphical or tabular materials, possibly in addition to a handout.

Contributed Paper Sessions

Nearly half of JSM sessions are contributed, which consist of seven papers with 15 minutes of presentation time for each, including the introduction of the speaker and questions. Contributed abstract submission closes February 1, 2024, and a decision about acceptance will be made by April 1, 2024.

Abstract Submission

To contribute to the JSM 2024 program, submit an abstract and title by February 1, 2024, at ww2.amstat.org/meetings/jsm/2024/submissions.cfm#abstracts. As part of the submission process, speakers must also specify the choice of the ASA section or JSM partner society most closely associated with the topic of their presentation. The system will be reopened for abstract editing from April 1–May 31.

For details, visit ww2.amstat.org/meetings/jsm/2024/submissions.cfm#abstracts.

Contact JSM 2024 Program Chair Debashis Ghosh at debashis.ghosh@cuanschutz.edu with any questions.

Call for Volunteers: Session Chairs

The success of JSM requires participation from the statistics community, and each JSM session requires a chair. Chair responsibilities include contacting speakers with session information before JSM, 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. Contact the IMS Invited Program Chair, Ji Zhu (jizhu@umich.edu) or the IMS Contributed Program Chair, Emily C. Hector (ehector@ncsu.edu).