The Annual Meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons has come to represent an outstanding opportunity for education in both clinical thoracic surgery and research in our field. In addition to the main events and presentations, the meeting offers a wide variety of ancillary sessions to enhance the overall meeting experience.

• 6th Annual Database Managers Meeting - January 25, 2002
  
• STS/AATS Tech-Con 2002 - January 26-27, 2002
  
• STS/ASTS Transplant Surgery Meeting - January 26, 2002
  
• STS Medico-Legal Symposium - January 26, 2002
  
• The 3rd International Symposium - January 27, 2002
  
• Practice Management for Thoracic Surgeons - January 27, 2002
  

John R. Benfield, M.D., and Christine B. Feak will host this informative workshop. There will be about 35 participants for all three parts of the workshop, selected on a first-come, first-served basis. An editor and a language professional (co-author of English in Today's Research World - A Writing Guide) will discuss cross-cultural differences in science writing. Examples of language problems for English Second Language (ESL) authors will be given. The workshop will present guidelines for writing the Introduction, the Discussion, the Conclusion and the Abstract of manuscripts, as well as preparing Tables and Legends. Participants are encouraged (urged) to bring an example of their own English writing.

Greater Fort Lauderdale has 23 miles of beautiful beaches, a newly renovated brick-lined beachfront promenade, and a beautiful Riverwalk along the New River. The city boasts the largest indoor/outdoor flea market in the U.S., the Swap Shop, and the world's largest designer discount and entertainment mall, Sawgrass Mills Mall. The Anne Kolb Nature Center offers hiking trails in its 1500+ acre mangrove estuary and habitat for wading birds and other native wildlife. Manatees can be seen from November to April at Port Everglades.

If art is more to your liking, Fort Lauderdale has what you're looking for. The contemporary Third Ave Art District offers a variety of cutting-edge sculptures, paintings, and prints. The Old Dillard Museum is a historic landmark containing African-American galleries of cultural and historic artifacts in traditional settings.

For more information on the sunny luxuries of Ft. Lauderdale, visit the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau Web site at http://www.co.broward.fl.us/sunny.htm.