Monday's Have You Heard

Welcome to the lab: It's not what you think — there'll be no white coats, test tubes or Bunsen burners. This is APHA's new Social Media Lab, a chance to brainstorm just the right formula for using social media to reach your public health goals. The lab will offer one-on-one meetings with social media experts from APHA and AIDS.gov, so click here to sign up in advance or stop by to learn more. Or just swing by to pick up informational materials or join the social media discussion. The Social Media Lab is open to Annual Meeting registrants on Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Southwest Lobby of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

Daily specials: Two APHA Special Sessions are scheduled for Monday's 8:30-10 a.m. slot. The first, session 3010 in Grand Ballroom A of the Westin Waterfront, focuses on "Prescription Drug Overdoses: Emerging Best Practices for Prevention" and will feature in-depth discussions about national and local strategies to curb the growing public health problem. The second, session 3012 in room 253A of the convention center, is titled "Shorter Lives, Poorer Health: A U.S. Global Perspective" and will explore how America's health stacks up to our global counterparts and why we seem to be lagging behind.

Stop the presses!: Tired of opening the newspaper to the latest health story and finding that the public health perspective is missing — AGAIN? Then make some time to attend session 3117, "Media Advocacy: Breaking Through the Crowded News Cycle," at 10:30 a.m. in convention center room 103. During the session, you'll hear from local health reporters on the best ways to pitch your public health stories to the media and get your message to the masses. Featured speakers include Kay Lazar of the Boston Globe and Michael Yudell of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Post it: In addition to the meeting's oral scientific sessions, hundreds of poster sessions will be taking place throughout the Annual Meeting inside the Public Health Expo, Halls A/B1 in the convention center. Take a few minutes to stretch your legs, browse the poster sessions and talk with presenters about their research. Check your Annual Meeting program for each day's poster session times as well as research topics.

Madam President: Meet APHA's incoming president at session 3429, "APHA President-Elect Session: Best Practices in Public Health Leadership Development Around the World," from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in Harbor Ballroom III of the Westin Waterfront. Discussions will take you from India to the Caribbean and back to the U.S. with a focus on what it takes to become a public health leader.