It is with great pleasure that we report on the International Society of Exposure Science Annual Meeting that was held in Montreal on October 20-24, 2024. We had the honor of having Ka’nahsohon Kevin Deer, a member of the neighboring Kahnawà:ke Mohawk community, open the meeting in a good way. This was followed by an inspiring plenary talk by Donna Mergler on mercury poisoning in the community of Grassy Narrows, kicking things off perfectly for this meeting on Exposures that Impact Health in Vulnerable Populations.

Each day started with a stimulating early session to get us motivated. On Monday, Marie O’Neill gave a plenary talk on housing and health equity in the face of climate change. The following day, Robin Dodson moderated a community panel with Rae O’Leary and Sandy Navarro on conducting environmental health research with vulnerable communities. The Wednesday plenary was given by Ana Diez Roux on the contribution of environmental exposures to health inequities through a systems view. Finally, the last plenary on chemical exposures and risks in vulnerable communities was given by Thomas A. Burke. The meeting was attended by 801 participants, and covered a wide spectrum of topics pertaining to exposure science, with 444 oral presentations in 95 sessions, and 320 posters, including a student poster competition. Details can be found in the abstract book of the ISES 2024 Meeting in Supplementary Material.

Among the different initiatives specific to the Montreal meeting, we would like to highlight a few. We intentionally left Tuesday afternoon free to let attendees enjoy the city. Some participants took advantage by participating in the Amazing Race event (organized by the sustainability committee) where teams had to work together to solve clues and discover various locations, including parks and museums. We all had fun and got to know our beautiful host city a little better! In an effort to make the meeting as sustainable as possible, transit passes were included in the cost of registration for all attendees, an incentive for participants to use public transportation in the city, including from and to the airport. Attendees donated $1,240 to offset carbon emissions from their travel, which will be used to plant trees in urban neighborhoods. We also held a “Meatless Monday” with vegetarian (and delicious!) options throughout the day.

We are very thankful to everyone who attended this meeting from all over the world, who came with an open mind, ready to share knowledge, learn from each other, and make new connections while enjoying the beautiful city of Montreal. We were very happy to welcome 311 (38%) students and members from a wide geographical representation, including North America (80%), Europe (9%), Asia (9%) and LMIC (2%). Thanks to a generous group of sponsors, we were able to support networking opportunities for diverse members of our society, including from the communities that engage with researchers. Looking back, it was a week full of stimulating dialog shared by passionate scientists eager to connect with old- and make new friends, all working towards the advancement of exposure science to improve Public Environmental Health.