The 2023 Joint Meeting of the ASMB, HCS, and ASIP Planning Committee is committed to providing a friendly, safe, and welcoming environment for all, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, or other protected characteristics. We expect all attendees, speakers, and organizers to help us ensure a safe and positive conference experience for everyone and to abide by the Code of Conduct while attending the 2023 Joint Meeting of the ASMB, HCS, and ASIP in all venues, including ancillary events and official and unofficial social gatherings.

• Exercise consideration and respect in your speech and actions.
   
• Refrain from demeaning, discriminatory or harassing behavior and speech.

Unacceptable Behaviors Include:

• Intimidating, harassing, abusive, discriminatory, derogatory or demeaning speech or actions by any participant at all related events.
   
• Harmful or prejudicial verbal or written comments or visual images related to gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, disability, or other personal characteristics.
   
• Inappropriate use of nudity and/or sexual images (including presentation slides).
   
• Deliberate intimidation, micro-aggression.
   
• Photographing slides of oral presentations without the express permission of the presenter/author.
   
• Disruption of presentations during sessions, throughout the meeting. All participants must comply with the instructions of the moderator and any ASMB, HCS or ASIP event staff.

• Presentations, and messages should not contain promotional materials, special offers, job offers, product announcements, or solicitation for services. The 2023 Joint Meeting of the ASMB, HCS and ASIP Planning Committee reserves the right to remove such messages and potentially ban sources of those solicitations.

• Recording or transmission of scientific and other sessions without the express permission of the participants.
   
• Real or implied threat of physical, professional, or financial harm.
   
• Retaliation against an individual for reporting discrimination or harassment.
   
• Intentionally filing a false report of discrimination or harassment.
   
• It is prohibited for participants to take photos of slide presentations without the express permission from the presenter.

What to Do If You Witness or Experience Conduct That Violates the Code
If you experience or witness discrimination or harassment, you are encouraged to immediately inform the alleged violator that their comments or behavior are unwelcome. Individuals may be unaware that their conduct is offensive and are often willing to correct their behavior if so informed.

However, please note that you are not required to directly address or confront a person you believe is discriminating against or harassing you or another person. If you do not feel comfortable addressing the alleged violator, or if the alleged violator continues the behavior after being advised that such conduct is unwelcome, you should report the incident. 

If you wish to report discrimination or harassment you have witnessed or experienced, you may do so by contacting:

William B. Coleman, PhD
Executive Officer
wbcoleman@asip.org
Cell Phone: (919) 818-6198

Kendra LaDuca
Executive Director
The Histochemical Society
American Society for Matrix Biology
KLaDuca@histochemicalsociety.org
Cell Phone: (301) 919-0952

Lisa McFadden, CMM
Director of Scientific Meetings
Lmcfadden@asip.org
Cell Phone: (202) 498-0197

You are also encouraged to write down as many relevant details as you can recall (e.g., names, dates, times, behavior or statements made, etc.), which can be helpful in filling out a report later if needed.

The meeting organizers will maintain your confidentiality except where doing so would compromise another person’s rights or the organizer’s ability to conduct a thorough investigation. In such cases, the organizers will limit disclosure only to that information necessary to ensure proper investigation and compliance with procedures.  No retaliation will be taken or tolerated against anyone who makes a good faith report of discrimination or harassment.

Consequences of Unacceptable Behavior
Unacceptable behavior from any participant at the 2023 Joint Meeting of the ASMB, HCS and ASIP including attendees, sponsors and anyone with decision-making authority, will not be tolerated. Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately.

The 2023 Joint Meeting of the ASMB, HCS and ASIP Planning Committee reserves the right to take any action deemed necessary and appropriate, including immediate removal from the meeting without warning or refund, in response to any incident of unacceptable behavior, and reserves the right to prohibit attendance at any future meetings, in-person or virtually.