I’m heading down to Washington D.C. this evening for my first American Association for Cancer Research meeting. It could have been my second. I was supposed to go to Toronto in 2003, but an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in the city forced organizers to reschedule. I’m starting to wonder if I’m bad luck for this meeting.

This year, a giant volcanic ash cloud originating in Iceland will likely prevent a number of European participants from making it. Via Twitter, Oncology Times reports that 10% of the roughly 17,000 planned attendees hail from Europe, but an AACR spokesperson said it’s unclear how many are grounded. AACR’s travel advisory offers ways for invited speakers to deliver talks via videoconferencing and they’re offering refunds to those grounded by ash. The AACR’s twitter feed is already announcing some rescheduled and cancelled talks.