Submitted by Dr. Anna Füzéry (2025 ADLM AMOC member)
This year’s CSCC annual scientific conference will be held in partnership with the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) on July 27-31 in Chicago, Illinois at the McCormick Place Convention Center. The Annual Meetings Organizing Committee (AMOC) includes three Canadian representatives: Dr. Ivan Blasutig (current member), Dr. Anna Füzéry (current member), and Dr. Curtis Oleschuk (past member). The AMOC commenced its work in January 2024 to develop a high-quality scientific program that includes ADLM University Courses, plenaries, scientific sessions, Roundtables, and a poster hall. This work is still underway, so more details about the scientific program will be shared in the next edition of the CSCC News. Chicago is located in the Midwestern US on the southwestern shores of Lake Michigan. It is the third largest American city with an estimated 2.7 million residents. Despite its nickname of “Windy City,” Chicago feels hot and humid in the summer. Afternoon temperatures tend to be in the high 20s °C, with a few days even reaching the low 30s °C. Late night and early morning low temperatures tend to be around 21 or 22 °C. Light summer clothes are best for July, with a light sweater for a few of the cooler early mornings. Make sure to bring some warmer clothes with you as the McCormick Place has its own microclimate due to plenty of air conditioning!
Some fun facts about Chicago:
• The name “Chicago” was first recorded in 1699, where it appears as “Chigagou”, an Algonquian word meaning “onion field.”
• The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed 18,000 buildings, killed 300 residents, and left more than 100,000 of the city’s 300,000 residents homeless. Its initial spark remains unknown. The fire led to the incorporation of stringent fire-safety codes, which included a strong preference for masonry construction.
• Each year, the Chicago River is dyed green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
• Famous movies filmed entirely or partly in Chicago include The Blues Brothers, The Dark Knight, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Fugitive, and Home Alone. ER, the famous medical drama TV series, was also partly filmed in Chicago.
• Famous individuals who hail from or have lived in Chicago include Al Capone, Barack Obama, George Lucas, Oprah Winfrey, Nat King Cole, Harrison Ford, Enrico Fermi, and James D.
Chicago offers a lot to see and do for both the novice and seasoned visitors. Some of its best known and most visited sites include:
- Magnificent Mile – A stretch of Michigan Avenue featuring more than 460 shops as well as restaurants and historic landmarks.
- John Hancock Centre–A 100-story, 344-metre-high skyscraper with expansive views of downtown Chicago,including the Magnificent Mile, Navy Pier, and Lake Michigan.
- Willis Tower– A 110-story, 442-metre-highskyscraper with expansive views of downtown Chicago. Formerly known as the Sears Tower.
- Millennium Park – A 24.5-acre rooftop garden built over an underground parking garage. It features an outdoor concert venue designed by architect Frank Gehry, the famous Cloud Gate sculpture (lovingly nicknamed “The Bean”), and many walking paths.
- Navy Pier – A 1,010-metre-long pier on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, sporting a 196-foot Ferris wheel, carnival rides, an IMAX theatre, a beer garden, many restaurants, and several public plazas. In 2023 and 2024 it was voted one of the ten best places to watch fireworks in USA Today. Free fireworks displays take place each week of the summer on Wednesdays (9 pm) and Saturdays (10 pm).
- Wrigley Field–One of the oldest and most iconic Major League Baseball parks in the US. It was built in 1914 and has been home to the Chicago Cubs since 1916.
- Art Institute of Chicago–Voted one of Tripadvisor’s Best of the Best US attractions of 2024, art lovers will delight in the expansive art collection of the Institute. Some of its most famous works include A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (Georges Seurat), Nighthawks (Edward Hopper), American Gothic (Grant Wood), The Old Guitarist (Pablo Picasso), and Marc Chagall’s America Windows.
If you only have limited time to spend in the city, consider taking one of the many organized tours offered by either the Chicago Architecture Centre (ACA) (https://www.architecture.org/) or by Chicago Movie Tours (CMT) (https://www.chicagomovietours.com/). ACA offers small group tours by boat, bus and on foot to explore the city’s spectacular architecture through its most iconic buildings.The River Cruise Aboard the First Lady is a particularly pleasant tourto take when the weather is nice, and it also lets you see the city from the very unique vantage point of the Chicago River.CMT offers small group walking tours that discover the city through film, with tours led by a film expert with a PhD.
A last word about transportation. While many of Chicago’s most famous sights are within walking distance of each other, you will need to take a taxi, ride-share app, or public transit to reach them from McCormick Place. Public transit is a fast and cost-effective way to get around and taking the elevated train (known as the “L”) is a fun experience in and of itself. (To make it even more fun, watch some episodes of ER before you go to Chicago!) However, if you plan to be out in the evenings and at night, a ride-share app or taxi is probably the safest option for getting around.
Register for the conference on the ADLM website: https://meeting.myadlm.org/register
Email for queries about registration: custserv@myadlm.org