ELSIcon2024 Policies

We are committed to providing an outstanding experience for all participants at ELSIcon2024. We strive for access to all activities—to the fullest extent possible—based on an awareness of participants' needs and appropriate planning.

During the registration process, you will have an opportunity to indicate the area(s) in which you will need assistance. ELSIcon2024 staff will provide services as appropriate or facilitate connection to Columbia Disability Services as needed. If you require disability accommodations to attend ELSIcon2024, please contact Columbia University Disability Services directly at (212) 854-2388 at least 10 days in advance of the event.

Full access to buildings is available across the campus; please see the campus map and other useful information here. ELSIcon2024 will be held in Lerner Hall. Please use this page as a guide for areas in which you may require assistance. For any additional questions or concerns about accessibility at ELSIcon2024, please email info@elsicon2024.org.

All cancellation requests must be made by email to mhe_ethics@cumc.columbia.edu. A $50 processing fee applies to all cancellations at the $300 level; $15 at the $75 level. All refunds will be processed after the conference. ELSIcon2024 management reserves the right to substitute presenters or cancel or reschedule sessions because of low enrollment or other unforeseen circumstances. If we must cancel the conference, registrants will receive a refund of their paid registration fees. No refunds can be issued for lodging, airfare, or any other expenses related to attending the conference; please plan accordingly.

In-Person and Virtual

The ELSI community of scholars has attempted to nurture an academic culture that embraces the importance of diversity, supports the mentorship of young scholars, cultivates the value of interdisciplinarity, exemplifies intellectual and ethical integrity, and respects differences of opinion and perspective. With that academic culture in mind, the organizers and hosts of ELSIcon2024 are committed to providing a safe and productive meeting environment that fosters open dialogue and the exchange of scientific ideas, promotes equal opportunities and treatment for all participants, and is free of harassment and discrimination. All participants are expected to treat others with respect and consideration, follow venue rules, and alert organizers, staff or security of any dangerous situations or anyone in distress. Speakers are expected to uphold standards of scientific integrity and professional ethics. The ELSIcon2024 organizers recognize that there are areas of science that are controversial. ELSIcon2024 can serve as an effective forum to consider and debate science-relevant viewpoints in an orderly, respectful, and fair manner. These considerations apply to all attendees, speakers, exhibitors, staff, contractors, volunteers, and guests at ELSIcon2024.

ELSIcon2024 and Columbia University prohibit any form of harassment, be it sexual, physical, or verbal. Harassing behavior includes, but is not limited to, inappropriate or intimidating behavior and language, denigrating jokes, insulting or obscene comments or gestures, sustained disruption, unwanted touching or attention, offensive images, photography without permission, and stalking. This code applies both to in-person and virtual participants of ELSIcon2024.

Harassment should be reported immediately to ELSIcon2024 organizers or staff in person (if in the immediate vicinity) or by direct message in the chat box in a Zoom meeting. If an ELSIcon2024 staff member is not available please email info@elsicon2024.org, call, or text the designated phone number, which will be shared before and during the Congress. 

For immediate response to a dangerous situation, call Public Safety at 212-854-2797 and 212-854-5555. Sanctions may range from verbal warning, to removal from the meeting without refund, to notifying the appropriate authorities at Columbia University (including the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action for Discrimination, Harassment & Gender-Based Misconduct complaints at 212­-854­-5511 and/or with Public Safety at 212-854-2797), as well as the National Institutes of Health, as supporters of ELSIcon2024.  Please refer to this document for further information and resources on how to report harassment at Columbia University.

ELSIcon2024 requires clear disclosures (including a statement on their slide or poster presentation) from all presenters regarding any financial holdings, funding sources, or affiliations that might raise questions of bias or be perceived to have potentially influenced presentation content. ELSIcon2024 organizers expect that all speakers, organizers, and moderators are committed to full, forthright, and transparent disclosure of any potential conflicts of interest. 

The ELSIcon2024 organizers ask presenters to make a good faith effort to identify any issues that might reasonably be expected to raise conflict-of-interest questions.

ELSIcon2024 aims to encourage presentation of the latest findings by protecting researchers sharing unpublished information and protecting patient privacy. By default, attendees are prohibited from taking photos, videos, or audio recordings of speakers presenting their slides or posters as per the guidelines below. Presenters are requested to announce at the beginning of their presentation whether or not photos, recording and/or sharing of their presentation on social media are permitted during or following their presentation.

ELSIcon2024 attendees and participants are encouraged to participate in social media activities about the conference by using the hashtag #ELSIcon2024. Discussion of general topics, speakers, and presentations is permitted as a way to briefly summarize or highlight material and the conference in general within the following guidelines:

• Taking photos, videos or audiotapes of slides, posters, presenters, or questions and answers are not permitted without explicit permission by the presenter
• Copyright and other intellectual property laws must be followed
• Brief quotes from sessions may be shared unless the speaker explicitly asks that it not be shared
• Social media posts cannot imply any kind of endorsement by the ELSI Congress