Press and Media
To support accurate coverage of neuromuscular and electrodiagnostic medicine, protect the integrity of scientific research, and respect the privacy of presenters, AANEM maintains clear standards for media credentialing, venue access, embargoes, and commercial activity at the meeting. Whether you are a professional journalist, an industry partner, or a scientific attendee, please review the policies below to understand access options, reporting guidelines, and expectations while onsite.
| Media registration | Aug. 1 – Oct. 2, 2026 |
| Media may request specific interviews | Sept. 1 – Oct. 2, 2026 |
| Media may request photo/video access to specific speakers, sessions, and/or workshops | Sept. 1 – Sept. 29, 2026 |
| 2026 AANEM Annual Meeting | Sept. 29 – Oct. 2, 2026 |
1. Press credentialing
Media credentialing standards
AANEM issues media passes to professional journalists whose primary role is news reporting rather than general influence or promotional activity. To obtain complimentary press registration, applicants must provide documentation demonstrating their status as professional journalists, such as:
- Print/online journalists: A recognized press card, an assignment letter from an editor on official letterhead, and recent bylined articles (past 6 months) related to medical or scientific topics.
- Broadcast media: Official press credentials issued by a government or media organization, along with a formal letter from a producer.
- Freelancers: Evidence of an active portfolio with relevant scientific articles/news coverage within the last year.
Media may submit credentials and/or proof of professional status by emailing them to communications@aanem.org.
Communications, PR, and marketing professionals from commercial companies, pharmaceutical firms, or medical device corporations are not eligible for complimentary media registration and should register as Industry Partners or Exhibitor Representatives.
2. Access and restricted zones
A media pass provides access to designated areas and activities within the meeting; it does not provide unrestricted access to all rooms and events ..
- Press Room / Media Center: A dedicated workspace reserved for badged media members, with workspace, high‑speed Wi‑Fi, and interview areas where journalists can meet with presenters or association leadership.
- Scientific sessions: Media may attend open scientific sessions and oral abstract presentations to listen and take notes; video and/or audio recording requires prior written approval.
- Poster Sessions: Photography or video recording of poster presentations is generally not permitted unless explicit written permission is granted by the presenting author to help protect unpublished data and intellectual property.
- Workshops: Photography or video recording of workshops is generally not permitted unless explicit written permission is granted by AANEM
3. Interview requests
- Media may request interviews with specific presenters, speakers, or AANEM members. Requests should be submitted in writing to <communications@aanem.org> and include the name of the intended interviewee, along with brief context on how the interview will be used in the news story. If you do not have a specific individual in mind but know the type of expert you need, please describe this in detail in your request.
- Submitting a request does not guarantee interview availability, and participation is at the discretion of the attendee and AANEM.
4. Photo and video access
Media may request access to specific presentations or sessions to capture photos and/or video. Requests should be submitted in writing to <communications@aanem.org> and include the session name, the type of media you are seeking (for example, photos only or short video clips), and how it will be incorporated into your reporting.
AANEM’s priority is to support scientific communication while protecting attendees’ intellectual property, so photo or video requests may be approved, modified, or declined based on these considerations.
5. AANEM suitcasing policy
Definition
“Suitcasing” refers to companies or individuals who are not official exhibitors or sponsors using the AANEM Annual Meeting for commercial purposes such as marketing, promotion, or business solicitation. This includes activities like distributing promotional materials, conducting sales conversations, or marketing products and services in public spaces such as aisles, session rooms, hallways, meeting areas, exhibit and poster halls, or hotel facilities associated with the meeting. It also includes soliciting business within another company’s exhibit space or using the meeting to gain commercial or competitive advantage without being an approved exhibitor or sponsor.
Prohibited attendance and activities
To support a scientific, educational focus and honor commitments made to exhibitors and sponsors, AANEM generally does not allow the following individuals to attend the meeting in any capacity (including as regular scientific attendees):
- Pharmaceutical or device company competitor investigators whose primary purpose is competitive intelligence gathering.
- Third‑party or in‑house competitive intelligence professionals attending on behalf of pharmaceutical, biotechnology, device, or related healthcare companies.
- Pharmaceutical, biotechnology, device, or healthcare marketing strategists, branding, or commercialization personnel whose primary purpose is to observe, analyze, or leverage the meeting for marketing, product positioning, or competitive assessment.
If an individual’s primary objective in attending the AANEM Annual Meeting is to collect competitive intelligence, assess competitors, monitor product positioning, or otherwise gather information for commercial advantage rather than for clinical, scientific, or educational purposes, their attendance is not permitted under this policy in any registration category.
Individuals who are not official exhibitors or sponsors and who are observed engaging in promotional, marketing, or solicitation activities, or acting in a competitive‑intelligence or marketing capacity, may:
- Be declined registration or badge pickup.
- Be asked to leave the meeting and related venues.
- Be restricted from attending future AANEM events.
Enforcement decisions are made at AANEM’s discretion to protect the meeting environment and its participants.
6. Embargo policies
To help coordinate fair and accurate news coverage, AANEM may share press releases and abstract details with registered journalists in advance under embargo. Embargoed information may not be published until the specified date and time.
- Standard abstracts: Embargoes are lifted when the abstract is published online or when the annual meeting begins.
- Violations: Material breaches of embargo terms may result in revocation of media credentials for current and future meetings and removal from AANEM’s press list
7. Digital and social media
AANEM’s guidelines distinguish between professional journalism and scientific communication by attending physicians, researchers, advanced practice providers, technicians, and other allied health care providers who share insights online.
- “Attendee Scientific Communication: AANEM encourages attending physicians, researchers, and other allied health care professionals to use official meeting hashtags to live‑tweet or share high‑level insights, which is viewed as public scientific communication rather than professional journalism.
- Slides/data capture: Registered attendees are not permitted to take direct photos of presentation slides, proprietary graphics, or raw clinical data tables unless the presenter clearly indicates “Open Access / Sharing Welcome” on their slides or the poster presenter approves it.
8. On-site and on-call media contacts:
Ian Roth – Marketing and Communications Manager, AANEM – 507-258-6575
Kati Poterucha – Marketing and Communications Director, AANEM – 507-258-6571
View the latest AANEM Achievement Award winners, the American Neuromuscular Foundation (ANF) Abstract Award winners, and the latest AANEM news articles on News Express.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: When will be content of abstracts be viewable, as opposed to just the titles?
A: The abstract content will be available at the annual meeting during the Poster Hall hours. We do not provide abstract presenter information or slides ahead of time. All available information can be found in the AANEM Abstract Guide online when it becomes available.
Q: How do I reach out to abstract or session presenters for an interview?
A: We do not offer member contact information. To connect with abstract or session presenters, review the AANEM Annual Meeting Program when available. Find the topics of interest and connect with the presenter after their lecture or during their abstract poster session time. Currently there is no interview option for virtual attendees.
Q: When can I share information?
A: The embargo on the abstracts themselves is lifted when they have been published in Muscle & Nerve and online in the AANEM Abstract Guide. However, the additional information beyond what is in the abstract itself is still embargoed.
AANEM requires information that goes beyond that which is contained within the abstract, e.g., the release of data not included in the abstract, discussion of the abstract done as part of a scientific presentation, etc. to be embargoed until the start of the annual meeting. Please see the Abstract Embargo Policy.
Q: Will the Abstract Award Reception feature the best posters?
A: The Abstract Award Reception is a social hour in honor of the abstract award winners where all authors, including award winners, will be available to discuss research.
Q: Original research is ONLY presented as posters, correct?
A: Yes - the research is presented in the Poster Hall via abstract posters.
Michael Swash, MD, Receives 2026 AANEM Honorary Member Award
A clinician whose work has shaped generations of NM specialists, Michael Swash, MD, is this year's AANEM Honorary Membership recipient. He is recognized for decades of contributions that span clinical care, education, and pioneering work in EDX, as well as for a career-long commitment to some of the most challenging conditions in NM medicine.
His story begins as a medical student in London, when his dean sent him abroad for a four-month Exchange-Visitor period at the University of Virginia. "The Dean felt I needed to wake up and spend less time partying and rowing in the College Eight," he recalls. That early immersion in a different academic environment broadened his outlook, shifted his focus more fully toward medicine, and set the stage for a career that would bridge institutions and countries.
Soon after, he entered one of the most demanding roles of his early training. He "had the good fortune to spend 6 months as Neurosurgery House Officer (Intern) at the London Hospital—a brilliant and unforgettable experience, in a pioneering Unit, although I was allowed to leave the hospital only for 2 days in the whole 6 month appointment (times have changed!)." The intensity of that post, coupled with the innovation of the unit, forged his appreciation for disciplined clinical training and close-knit teams working at the forefront of care.
The next pivotal chapter took him from London to Cleveland. He was "sent from the London Hospital to Case Western Reserve University Neurology Residency program in Cleveland (under Dr. Joseph M. Foley and his team, that at that time included Bostonian influencers such as Drs. Maurice Victor, Richard T. Johnson, Simon Horenstein, Stanley van den Noort, William A. Sibley, and others) for 3 years training," he said. That period anchored his path in neurology and NM disease, deepening his exposure to complex disorders and evolving diagnostic tools. He says it was around this time that he discovered quantitative EMG as a research tool—helped later by Erik Stålberg in Uppsala—opening new ways to interrogate disease mechanisms and refine EDX practice.
His path into NM and EDX medicine was driven not just by scientific curiosity, but by what he witnessed in patients' lives. Asked what initially drew him to the field, he answered with characteristic directness: "The utter desolation of the lack of help for people with ALS and SMA syndromes." The absence of effective treatments for these disorders became a powerful motivator—pushing him to expand the use of EDX, explore new applications of electrophysiologic techniques, and seek incremental advances where cures were not yet within reach.
Over the course of his career, he has watched the field change profoundly. He notes "better understanding and above all a sense of hope, so far unrealized in terms of therapy. But we can do so much that formerly was impossible." Beyond ALS and SMA, he highlights a contribution he is particularly proud of: "the translation of electrophysiologic technics to the study of pelvic floor disorders in women—which my little group pioneered—has changed that field entirely." That work exemplifies his broader impact—taking core NM and EDX methods and extending them into new domains of clinical practice.
Equally central to his legacy is his role in training young neurologists and neurophysiologists. He describes working with trainees as "enormous fun and, of course, highly productive of new ideas," reflecting how teaching and mentorship have continually refreshed his own thinking and helped shape the next generation of the field.
For Dr. Swash, receiving AANEM Honorary Membership feels like a culmination of that long arc. He describes it as "an unexpected and considerable honor—it's always especially meaningful to be recognized by one's colleagues at home or abroad." Although he notes that he will "be in London during the meeting and ceremony," he adds that he "will be with you all in spirit," underscoring his ongoing connection to the AANEM community even from afar.
Today, his curiosity and commitment remain undimmed. "I struggle to understand modern genomics and continue to try to find a way through the confused mass of publications in that field!" he said, underscoring his ongoing engagement with rapidly evolving science. At the same time, he is struck by how the role of patients has evolved: "Patients, however, are now much better educated and involved in their disorders and management; in many ways they determine their own futures."
For early-career physicians and trainees exploring NM and EDX, his advice is concise but demanding: "Keep reading and studying and don't be afraid to tackle obscure issues." When asked what message he would share with the AANEM community, he offered a call for grounded thinking amid rapid progress: "Feet on the ground please—avoid too much florid speculation."
Looking ahead, his aspirations remain centered on one of the field's most urgent challenges. "I want to see a stop mechanism for ALS progression—cure is perhaps too much to expect," he said. He recognizes that "the next phase of active research is for another generation to tackle, but I have a lot of hard-won experience to share," and in doing so, he continues to shape NM and EDX medicine through his insights, mentorship, and enduring commitment to patients and colleagues.