Our Virtual World Congress is an interactive and completely online meeting experience utilizing a web-based simulated virtual conference center. This online congress will be in lieu of our traditional in-person congress. You will enter through the main lobby and have a map to select different rooms/spaces where you may visit. For example, there will be an Auditorium, an Exhibit Hall, an ISHRS Information Desk, etc.

Attendees will have the opportunities to attend and participate in live educational sessions, participate in online “forum” discussion chats on various topics, view on-demand educational content at their convenience, network with their peers via a chat function, and visit interactive exhibit booths from companies related to the field of hair transplantation.

Our traditional 3-4 day in-person meeting has been translated to an online format spanning 9 days.  Each day has around 4 hours of live programming. Live Exhibit Hall hours have been established with company representatives will be available in their booths via the Chat function.

We purposely spread out the schedule to 9 days for the following reasons.  We realize you will be living your usual, busy life at the time of the congress, and fitting in a few hours of educational programming each day as you can.  Due to the many time zones around the world, we realize that there is only a limited window of time that is somewhat reasonable when planning to come together live online at the same time.

The Program At-A-Glance offers a high level overview of the congress. The Meeting Schedule provides more detail about each session. All times are posted are in Central Daylight Time/Chicago. The following link can assist you in time zone conversion.  Note that it is currently set for the opening day of the platform. Click for link.

Abstracts selected for “CSI Presentations” (CSI=cases, studies, and innovations) will pre-record their presentation and/or post a PDF poster.  These CSI Presentations will be available on the platform from when the virtual conference center opens on Oct. 16, in an on demand format.

Forum discussion threads on various topics will be open when the platform opens on Oct. 16, and be available to read and comment in throughout the meeting dates.

Fireside Chat is a dedicated room in the virtual conference center where attendees may go after a Focused Session to continue the discussion via text (typing/written).  Think of it like when at an in-person meeting the session is over and some people will head to the front of the room to continue asking questions of the speakers in an informal way.  The definition of “fireside chat” is:  an informal conversation.

You are going to love this novel concept and presentation format!  “CSI” stands for “cases, studies, and innovations”.  These are selected from submitted abstracts on various topics. Each CSI author has the opportunity to prepare their presentation as a pre-recorded video, poster PDF, or both.  CSI authors will populate their dedicated CSI page in the platform in advance of the meeting.  Attendees may view the CSI presentations at their leisure once the platform opens on Oct. 16.  Each CSI page has a running chat, so the attendees may ask questions or provide comments.  The CSI author may respond and provide comments in the chat as well.  (Think similar to a poster defense session in an in-person meeting.)

For a live interaction component, on Thursday/Oct. 22, CSI authors will be available for questions & answers in one of 16 unique breakout groups/topics.  The CSI authors will be assigned to a group according to topic in advance of the meeting.  There will be 8 groups/topics in the first CSI Discussion Group session, and a different 8 groups/topics in the second session.  The 8 groups in each session will run simultaneously.  Attendees will select which group they wish to attend. They may come in and out of several groups, as they like.  Each group will have a moderator. The CSI authors assigned to a group will be asked to attend their group and be prepared to answer questions from the moderator or the audience.  So for example, abstracts on the topic of hairline design may be assigned to a CSI Discussion Group on “Hairline Design”.  (This concept is a combination of our prior “Coffee with the Experts” and a formal Poster defense session.)

There are many small changes to be made in preparing for a virtual meeting. It is very important that all faculty review the content on the Faculty Information page. Faculty who have been asked to pre-record talks should follow our Video Recording Instructions. Specific instructions can be found for those who are CSI Presenters, General Session Faculty, and Focused Session Faculty.

• Check your computer settings for the Virtual World Congress here:

A section within the platform is “Forum”. These are forum discussion threads on various topics.  Forums will be set-up in advance on each Focused Session topic and other various hot topics.

We are offering 15-minute slots for purchase by exhibiting companies in two “Industry Thought Leaders Symposium” sessions.  It is an opportunity for industry representatives or affiliated physicians to educate our attendees on the science behind their product, device or service. The idea is to be educational and not commercial/promotional. We know there are so many industry thought leaders who help advance the art and science of hair restoration.  This is our way to provide a reputable showcase for them. An ISHRS physician will moderate and help organize each session.

Each attendee will build their profile with name, title, location, etc.  They may upload either their head shot photo or they may build an avatar within the platform. Attendees will have access to the profiles of other attendees.  You may connect within the platform via direct one-on-one chat.  You may also connect in groups via chat function when in a common space.  At any time you may click “Who’s Here” to see who else is in the space/room you are in within the platform.

Yes. As usual, an abstract book will be produced and available in PDF format. The sections of the abstract book will include: General Sessions, Focused Sessions, CSI Presentations, Take Home Messages, Author Index, and Category Index. The abstract book is included with the price of registration. The abstract book will be located on the platform in the space called “Handouts & Final Program”.

Yes. Presenters in General Sessions and Focused Sessions will be asked to provide their PowerPoint which will be converted to PDF and hooked to their name/presentation in the schedule on the platform. Attendees may click and download the PDFs as they prefer. In addition, all handouts/PDFs will be located on the platform in the space called, “Handouts & Final Program” (i.e., a one-stop shop).

These courses have been extracted (no pun intended) from Virtual World Congress this year.  These courses will take place independently and with separate registration.  Each will be an online format utilizing Zoom Meeting.  You do not need to be registered for the World Congress in order to register for any of these 3 courses.  And in fact, if you register for the Basics Course or Advanced/Board Review Course, then you will receive a discount on your Virtual World Congress registration!

We purposely set the Basics Course several weeks prior to the World Congress so physicians newer to the field have a core review prior to attending the World Congress. Please visit the respective webpage for each course on the 28thannual.org website for more information.

While we will not have a virtual Gala, we will hold a virtual “Awards Ceremony” where the annual ISHRS Golden and Platinum Follicle Awards will be presented, as well as the Distinguished Assistant Award.  We have included the Awards Ceremony within the schedule, however, the Awards Ceremony will not take place within the virtual platform.  Instead, it will be conducted as a Zoom Meeting.  We will provide a different registration link (no fee) at a later date, and we will welcome others to attend including ISHRS physicians, surgical assistants, office staff, family and friends – as we typically do for the traditional “Gala”.

Similar to the Awards Ceremony, the ISHRS General Membership Business Meeting will not occur within the virtual platform.  Instead, it will be conducted as a Zoom Meeting.  A separate registration link (no fee) will be sent at a later date to ISHRS members.

We intend to make this the most fun and engaging online event you have ever attended.

We have games planned including “ISHRS Collegiality Game” and “Exhibitor Extravaganza Passport Game” that will be fun, educational, and you may win prizes! The games are optional and will be running concurrently in the background, and you may participate as you like as time permits.  We have some fun and personable highlights planned throughout.  The sister societies in the Global Council of Hair Restoration Surgery Societies are also participating so together we will make this a memorable event! We are texturizing the live educational sessions as much as possible so it will not be boring, and so you can participate, if you wish.

Yes. Please visit the Exhibit & Sponsorship page at: https://28thannual.org/welcome-and-downloads/

The listed times are in the time zone of Chicago, Illinois, USA, which is the location of ISHRS Headquarters.  Chicago observes the U.S. Central Daylight Savings Time (CDT). You will see that most sessions are held in the morning hours of Chicago time. This time was selected based on research of best practices for very international groups.

We have included a time zone converter tool and charts to help you calculate the time equivalence in your locale.

Yes, all live educational sessions and educational chats will be recorded and made available on the platform.  We are aiming to have the recording posted within 24 hours.  CSI presentations, which are pre-recorded and pre-loaded, are considered already “on demand” content and will be available from when the platform opens on Oct. 16, 2020.  Post-meeting, all recorded content will be available on demand on the platform website for a period of 3 months following the conclusion of the congress, until January 25, 2021.

The official language is English.  There will be one-way simultaneous interpretation in Spanish and Mandarin for the General Sessions, Focused Sessions, Industry Thought Leaders Symposia, and Welcome Drink. Those signing up for Spanish or Mandarin interpretation will receive a special phone number with code to dial-in to listen. Simultaneous interpretation feeds will not be recorded, but we are looking into this possibility.

• Attendees must access the ISHRS Virtual Congress platform from a laptop or PC. Tablets and phones are not compatible with the site.
• Google Chrome is the preferred internet browser.
• Audio must be accessed via computer using Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge as the internet browser, or via phone.
• Those who will participate in Simultaneous Interpretation must access the audio via phone.
• Enable your microphone and webcam to participate in live sessions.
• Establish a strong internet connection, wired if possible for the strongest connection.
• Some portions of the world congress will take place via Zoom. Download this pre-course checklist for Zoom

Yes. The platform was originally custom built from the ground up by working hand-in-hand with the developer who was the Chief Information Officer for the U.S. Air Force, and who was tasked by the U.S. Surgeon General to build this platform for the United States Department of Defense. He went onto building it for the U.S. Veterans Administration where 300,000+ clinicians were trained through it. The virtual conference center platform received a Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) cloud security assessment certification approval.  This is very difficult to receive in the United States and shows the level of security.  The platform has bidirectional encrypting meaning it encrypts as the data leaves the platform as well as when it enters the platform.  In addition, all data “on demand” is also encrypted.

The ISHRS Virtual World Congress is open to physicians of all experience levels with an interest in hair restoration surgery. General Sessions are designed for intermediate to advanced level surgeons. Each Focused Session identifies the appropriate experience level. Those who are new to the field of hair restoration surgery are encouraged to take the Basics Course prior the start of the World Congress.  Those who are not ISHRS members will be asked to provide a copy of their medical license and a statement on letterhead. Additional information can be found here.

Non-Physicians are not eligible to attend.

August 15, 2020

The Ultra Early Bird registration rates are valid through August 15, 2020. The lowest rates are available exclusively to ISHRS members. Those who register and attend the Basics and/or Advanced/Board Review Course are eligible for additional $50 discount on registration. (Note: the $50 per course discount will be processed as a refund following the World Congress.)

No. Each user must have a separate registration and unique email address to login. The site will not permit multiple logins from a singe username. And as a reminder, only physicians are eligible to register and attend.