PAG XXIX was canceled and an impromptu virtual meeting ensued

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, rising number of Omicron variant cases, and the importance of maintaining a safe and healthy environment for all those who had planned to attend the in-person Plant and Animal Genome (PAG) Conference in 2022, the conference was canceled.   

It was then that the organizers of PAG forged quickly ahead to bring as much of the meeting online as possible.  With 72 hours notice, the Virtual PAG XXIX was planned featuring a 4-day schedule of 80 workshops, 7 plenary talks, and 386 speakers.

Virtual PAG XXIX was split into two tracks,the Virtual PAG XXIX Workshops and the Virtual PAG XXIX Plenary Sessions, with the original intent to ensure that previously registered attendees would have first access to register for the workshops and the plenary sessions would be open to all. In the end, all virtual events were offered for free.

All registered attendees were offered full credit towards the 2023 meeting.

PAG organizers understood the importance of this conference to the global agricultural genome community and all those, including exhibitors, sponsors, and partners, who worked hard to make the conference possible. It was a tremendous disappointment and a difficult decision to make, but with over 800,000 cases of COVID-19 in the US at the time and signs that the number was continuing to increase, a large conference would not have been wise.

The Gramene Team was unable to participate in this year’s PAG conference, but we look forward to seeing you in 2023!