Meeting Information

Announcing SNL 2021: We’re going virtual (again)!

April 9, 2021

SNL is excited to be hosting its second fully online meeting, which will take place from October 5 through October 8, 2021. While we still cannot meet in person this year, attendees will still be able to enjoy the latest research on the neurobiology of language at SNL 2021 (Virtual Edition).

Last year we enjoyed unprecedented engagement in our annual meeting, with over 850 delegates attending and more than 450 presentations. We look forward to bringing our global membership back together online in 2021.

What will SNL 2021 include?

SNL 2021 will feature four full days of scientific programming with many of the events that attendees have experienced at past meetings, including Keynote Talks, Symposia, Slide Sessions, and Awards Talks. There will also be opportunities to socialise and network, including content designed for our student and early-career members.

We are also delighted to announce a brand new element for SNL 2021: Slide Slam Sessions. Slide Slams will feature thematically-organised programs of 5-minute mini-talks followed by a live discussion/Q&A including all presenters. These dynamic sessions will replace poster sessions for SNL 2021 and have been designed to increase visibility and ensure a more interactive discussion space for all our SNL presenters. As in 2020, we will continue the “sandbox series”, an optional designation for slide slam abstracts reporting on planned and/or in-progress work.

Our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and accessibility

In 2020, we learned a lot about the benefits and challenges of hosting a scientific meeting online. This year we are striving to make sure we can develop a virtual meeting that is of equally high quality for all delegates. We continue to encourage contributions from scientists with diverse perspectives, disciplines, and demographics, and we will make sure our program showcases this diversity. Our Accessibility Committee will continue to work in supporting participation from right across our global membership. We are also working together with colleagues within the SNL Board and wider membership to find the best ways to make engagement with the verbal content of the meeting accessible to all delegates.

Call for Symposia and Abstracts

Both competitive symposia and general abstract submissions will open on April 13, so it’s time to get thinking about what you’re going to present! Prize nominations will open in the coming weeks. Renew your membership today.

We look forward to seeing you at the 13th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Neurobiology of Language (Virtual Edition)!

Welcome to SNL 2021 Virtual!

March 19, 2021

I am writing on behalf of the SNL Board and Programme Committee to notify everyone that this year’s conference will be an online virtual meeting again, whilst the in-person Brisbane meeting has been postponed to 2024. Although many of us are craving the chance to see each other in person, the current situation is too fluid and uncertain for the Society to move ahead with an in-person meeting.

I should note that this decision was not taken lightly – but rather after considering the membership feedback, other key sources of information, and the extremely helpful input from the local hosts. As always I am very grateful to the Programme Committee for its wise counsel and to Greig de Zubicaray for sage advice and help with the conference centre. By postponing the Brisbane meeting to a future date, not only do we protect the deposits already paid by the Society but we can ensure that the Brisbane meeting is a real “beaut”. I know from personal experience that Brisbane is a wonderful place to visit and the Society’s first visit to Australia merits a special in-person meeting.

In the meantime, Carolyn McGettigan (chair) and the rest of the Programme Committee are already planning the 2021 virtual meeting. We will send more information as soon as possible about the meeting and calling for abstracts. The core dates for the meeting remain (7 – 9 October), but please reserve 6 – 10 October 2021 in your diaries for the possibility of a slightly extended virtual programme, designed to reach our membership across the globe.

Last year’s online meeting was extremely successful. The Programme Committee is reviewing the many things that went well (to repeat them) and also at ways that we can improve further. Of course, the principal ingredient is all of you – so please engage enthusiastically with the plans for the meeting, calls for abstracts, and conference attendance.

With fond and healthy best wishes to all,

Matt Lambon Ralph, SNL Chair