Attendee Resources

At GSA, we strive to ensure attendees have the most productive experience possible at our conferences—that includes enjoying a dynamic scientific program and exciting educational moments while also providing opportunities for relaxation, fun, and connection, promoting wellness and relationship-building.

Keep the following resources in mind while you plan your #Dros25 attendance!

Meals and breaks
Family resources
Exploring San Diego and the surrounding area
Other hotel and venue amenities
Navigating the conference

Meals and breaks 

Coffee and snacks will be available Thursday through Sunday during the morning break. Be sure to grab dinner before the opening session on Wednesday. The opening reception will offer light snacks.

On property dining

The Town and Country Resort offers a wide variety of dining options from quick and casual to a more relaxing dining experience. Hours will vary. For more information and to check on operating hours, click here: 

ARLO: This award-winning restaurant serves scratch-made dishes using fresh local ingredients and flavors from around the globe.

Lappers Sports Bar + Kitchen: This casual spot serves SoCal comfort food like Surf and Turf Nachos, fish tacos, and burgers, plus a rotating tap of local beers. 

Lap It Up: Enjoy quick bites and local draft beers or cool and refreshing drinks, while lounging poolside. 

MRKT: Grab a bite on-the-go, from coffee and pastries, to wood-fired pizzas, salads, and sandwiches. Eat delicious food without missing a beat! 

Monkey Bar: Enjoy the San Diego weather—sit by a fire pit at the Monkey Bar and enjoy shareable plates, sips, and on some nights, live music.

Conference attendees can also take advantage of grab-n-go options on the Flamingo Lawn during lunchtime Thursday through Saturday. Don’t forget you have complimentary coffee in your room. 

Off property dining and shopping

San Diego has a wide variety of dining options and the hotel front desk can give you a list of recommendations from casual to elegant. Some are within walking distance of the hotel. Would you rather stock your room with snacks? Take the free transportation (based on availability) to the nearest grocery store. 

Did you forget something? No problem. The Fashion Valley Mall is directly behind the resort via a walkway. Find a list of stores and restaurants online.

Family resources

Dros 2025 welcomes attendees with children! 

Children are allowed in plenary, concurrent, and poster sessions; this includes babywearing of young children. There will also be monitors outside of those rooms in case you would rather watch sessions with your child without going into the room.

Those travelling with family members or caregivers who are not in the scientific community and not registered for the meeting can obtain a guest pass from the conference registration desk in the Town and Country Ballroom foyer so that they can accompany children into the poster sessions. All guests will be asked to agree to the Conference Code of Conduct and will need a name badge to enter the poster session. Guests must obtain their pass during posted registration hours.

To ensure the safety of all children in attendance and to create a productive and fulfilling meeting atmosphere for all attendees, we ask all parents and caregivers to abide by the following guidelines:

• Children ages 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult in all meeting areas.
• Parents and caregivers should do their best to ensure that children are not disruptive to any sessions they attend (including poster sessions). Large sessions will have seating at the back of the room reserved for attendees with children to allow for easy access into and out of the room. These seats will be clearly marked.
• For safety reasons, children are not allowed in the Exhibit/Poster Hall during set-up or break-down times.

Lactation Room

A lactation room will be available near Town and Country Ballroom D. Please look for the parent/child icon on the map in the meeting app.

Exploring San Diego and the surrounding area

The hotel is conveniently located on the Green Line of the MTS Trolley light rail service connecting San Diego’s downtown with East County, UC San Diego, South Bay, and Mexico. An all-day pass can be purchased for $6. For schedules, including airport and attraction information, please visit MTS.

Other hotel and venue amenities 

Parking

Reduced parking rates have been negotiated for conference attendees. The daily rate is $15/day for hotel guests and local attendees.

Resort fee/daily service charge

This fee has been waived for conference attendees but you will still have access to the following amenities:

• Guest room Wi-Fi
• Unlimited Access to the Fitness Center
• Guest room local call (619 and 858 area codes) and 1-800 calls
• Coffee, tea, and decaf coffee in your guest room

Quiet Room

For those who would like to take a break, please stop by the Quiet Room in Palm 6.

Wi-Fi

Conference attendees will have access to free Wifi. 

Network: Genetics Society of America

Password: #DROS25Fly (case sensitive)

Navigating the conference

Oral presenters—Speaker Ready Room

If you are giving an oral presentation (except in a workshop), you must load and check your presentation in the Speaker Ready Room the day before the start of your session. The room is located in Sunset 3 and will be open during the following hours:

Wednesday, March 19	1:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 20	7:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Friday, March 21	7:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 22	7:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.

Presentations cannot be uploaded in the meeting room; you must check in at the Speaker Ready Room. Workshop speakers should coordinate directly with the workshop organizers and should not upload their talks in the Speaker Ready Room.

Badge pick-up, registration, and pre-ordered T-shirts 

Registrants will be emailed their badge to print at home on or after March 14, 2025. Show your pre-printed badge to the registrar to collect your badge holder and lanyard. 

The Registration Desk will be open in the Town and Country Ballroom Foyer during the following hours: 

Wednesday, March 19	3:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 20	7:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Friday, March 21	7:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 22	7:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m.

A badge will be needed for admission to all conference sessions, posters, and the Exhibit Hall.  Security will not allow individuals without them to enter the Exhibit Hall. If you lose your badge, you may request a replacement at the Registration Desk. If you ordered a T-shirt in advance, you can pick it up at the Registration Desk beginning Thursday, March 20, during registration hours. A limited quantity will be available for purchase at this location.

Conference App

The Conference App will be available on February 21, 2025. Download the GSA Meetings app to your smartphone (available on both iOS and Android platforms) to have meeting information at your fingertips. Once you download the App, you will not need an internet connection to access previously downloaded information. You will only need an internet connection to download updates. 

Exhibits 

Visit the Exhibit Hall to see the latest technology and meet with exhibitors and GSA Journal editors. Be sure to visit all of the companies who have come to support your science and show you how they can help advance your research. You can renew current relationships or learn about new products and services that may be helpful in your lab.

Exhibit Hours

Wednesday, March 19 Opening Mixer	9:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 20 Exhibits open Poster Session	12:15 p.m.–4:15 p.m. 2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
Friday, March 21 Exhibits open Poster Session	12:15 p.m.–4:15 p.m. 2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 22 Exhibits open Poster Session	12:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m.

GSA Central—Booth 

Stop by GSA Central in the Golden State Ballroom to meet the Journals staff and editors and let us know how the Society can better serve you. Learn about GSA programs and resources to help you grow and excel in your career. You can also sign up to meet one-on-one with an editor from GENETICS or G3. Badge ribbons are available at GSA Central, including Job Seeker, Hiring, GENETICS Author, and G3 Author ribbons. 

Poster presenters 

All posters and exhibits will be in the Golden State Ballroom. The hall will be open daily between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m., Thursday at 7:00 a.m. through Saturday at 3:30 p.m. for poster viewing. See schedule below for times when authors will be presenting their poster. All posters will be displayed throughout the conference. 

Security will be posted at the entrance to the Poster/Exhibit Hall, and only individuals with a badge will be admitted. 

Poster presentation schedule: 

Thursday, March 20	2:00–3:00 p.m. Even Numbered “T” Posters 3:00–4:00 p.m. Odd Numbered “T” Posters
Friday, March 21	2:00–3:00 p.m. Even Numbered “F” Posters 3:00–4:00 p.m. Odd Numbered “F” Posters
Saturday, March 22	1:30–2:30 p.m. Odd Numbered “S” Posters 2:30–3:30 p.m. Even Numbered “S” Posters

All posters must be removed from poster boards by 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 22. After that time, remaining posters will be removed and recycled. Posters may only be removed by their own authors. Posters that are not collected may not be taken by someone who is not an author on that poster.

Find guidelines for oral and poster presenters, as well as useful resources in the For Presenters page.