The popular ATS Public Advisory Roundtable Meet-the-Experts patient education forum, a free event for patients and their families, will take place Saturday, May 20.

The 11th annual PAR event will have a panel of health care professionals speaking on the role of patients in advancing treatments and cures. The event also will feature breakout sessions where attendees will be able to mix and mingle with expert pulmonologists discussing specific conditions.

The didactic talks developed around the theme “The Role of Patients in Advancing Treatments and Cures” will take place from 10 a.m. to noon at the Renaissance Washington Downtown. The breakout sessions for informal discussions with experts will take place immediately following the morning talks, from noon to 2 p.m. Complimentary parking, lunch, and oxygen will be provided. Patients wanting to reserve space at the PAR Roundtable should send an email to Courtney White at cwhite@thoracic.org by May 8. For questions, contact Mr. White at 212-315-8640.

The panel will include expert speakers from the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of North Carolina, the University of Cincinnati, and Johns Hopkins University. The experts will speak on topics such as clinical trial design, participation in registries, and advocacy to the FDA.

Breakout sessions at the event will address pulmonary hypertension, COPD, sarcoidosis, and scleroderma. Also discussed will be lung diseases such as primary ciliary dyskinesia, nontuberculous mycobacteria, lymphangiamatosis and Gorham’s disease, LAM and tuberous sclerosis, and Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.

The experts leading discussions in breakout rooms will be:

Pulmonary Hypertension
Jason Elinoff, MD/Traci Housten, RN, MS; Gautam Ramani, MD/Oksana Shlobin, MD; and Virginia Steen, MD

COPD/Alpha-1
Robert Sandhaus, MD, PhD/Adam Wanner, MD; Charlie Strange, MD

Sarcoidosis
Marjolein Drent, MD, PhD/Marc Judson, MD; Jan Grutters, MD, PhD/Elliott Crouser, MD; and Craig Lipset, MBA

Scleroderma
Lesley Ann Saketkoo, MD, MPH

Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia
Kenneth Olivier, MD, MPH/Adam Shapiro, MD

Lymphangiomatosis and Gorham’s  Disease
Christopher Towe, MD

Nontuberculous Mycobacteria
Leah Lande, MD

LAM/Tuberous Sclerosis
Joel Moss, MD, PhD

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