Blood and Bone: The quarantine chronicles

Kirk A Taylor1, Kellie R Machlus2

  • 1National Heart and Lung Institute Imperial College London London UK.

In the midst of the chaos of the global pandemic, the online daily webinar series Blood and Bone was created. The series started with a blank schedule on a google doc and, with enthusiasm and participation from the hematopoiesis and hemostasis/thrombosis communities, was quickly filled through September 2020. In the absence of any editing of the speaker list, a diverse, well-balanced, and scientifically exciting program emerged. The seminar is hosted on Zoom and live-streamed on YouTube daily, and can accommodate up to 1000 attendees. Attendance has topped over 600 and averages 200 to 300 people daily; this has been sustained for 10 weeks. In addition, there is a weekly Thursday trainee series that hosts three 20-minute seminars. In this forum, we reflect on a series that allowed global scientists to come together to help shape chaos into an opportunity for community and growth.

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