A view of the Denver skyline from City Park, with the Rocky Mountains in the background.
Photo courtesy Ron Ruhoff and VISIT DENVER.

The American Thoracic Society’s International Conference is recognized as the world’s premier educational program for researchers and clinicians in adult and pediatric pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine. With more than 500 sessions, 800 speakers and 5,400 original scientific research abstracts and case reports, ATS 2011 offers attendees the opportunity to sample a broad spectrum of topics or concentrate on a specific area of clinical or scientific interest.

“The two words that come to mind when talking about the Society’s International Conference are ‘comprehensive’ and ‘interactive,'” said Marc Moss, MD, professor of medicine at the University of Colorado, Denver, who chairs the ATS International Conference Committee. “The science that will be presented during the 2011 program is extremely novel and will highlight the basic framework behind the most recent clinical discoveries in these fields. And clinicians will learn clinically relevant information that they can immediately apply in patient care.”

While many aspects will be familiar to past attendees, the ATS has made a number of changes—both to maximize the content of the meeting and to facilitate networking.

Late-Breaking Clinical Trials
ATS 2011 will feature six research studies during the C91 “Late-Breaking Clinical Trials” session, with two focusing on COPD, one on asthma, one on tuberculosis, one on critical care and one on lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM). “The intent is to create an opportunity for attendees to learn about the results of clinical trials that may be

presented for the first time,” Dr. Moss said of the session, which will take place at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, May 17.

Dr. Moss added that the ATS has made great strides since first including late-breaking clinical trials in the program. “We’re doing a better job of identifying high-impact science that has not been presented anyplace else,” he said. “Attendees will learn about the newest possible therapies that they can take home and apply to their patients.”

Several postgraduate courses feature hands-on learning opportunities.

Hands-on Courses
ATS 2011 will include more hands-on learning opportunities than have ever before been offered. From ultrasonography to implementing therapeutic hypothermia, attendees will be able to learn by doing. In addition to practical training, these sessions will provide context for the use of the medical devices, scientific instruments or clinical protocols.

One workshop that Dr. Moss highlighted is WS1 “Endobronchial Ultrasound (EBUS) in 2011,” which will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 15. Faculty members will review data about the utility of EBUS for mediastinal staging of lung cancer and guidelines highlighting the importance of lymph node staging in the evaluation of lung cancer.

“Many people attend medical meetings to learn how to better care for their patients. This often requires the attendee to learn by actually seeing and doing. That’s the key in this age of increasing technology,” Dr. Moss said.

Hands-on learning will also be included in two postgraduate courses, which will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, May 13, and Saturday, May 14: PG7 “Incorporating Ultrasound and Echocardiography into ICU Practice” and PG23 “Therapeutic Hypothermia Post-Cardiac Arrest: A Review of the Physiology, Evidence and Practical Approach to Implementation.”

Visit the postgraduate course website for information about these courses.

New Topics
An innovative postgraduate course will teach attendees how to develop the leadership skills necessary to advance in academic, industry and private practice settings. At PG30 “Leadership Workshop: Developing Skills to Advance your Career and Improve your Work Environment,” experts will talk about team-building and time management, as well as professional development skills, such as dealing with challenging colleagues, chairing committees, running a meeting and addressing cultural and gender issues.

B91 “The Practice of Medicine: Insights and Updates,” which will take place from

2 to 4:30 p.m. on Monday, May 16, is geared toward residents, fellows and practicing clinicians who have been in practice less than five years. Participants will gain the information, insights and tools necessary to establishing an efficient, effective and productive practice. This session will cover new issues related to coding and billing, as well as information technology resources.

D82 “Implications of U.S. Healthcare Reform for Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine,” which will take place from 2 to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 18, will highlight key aspects of America’s healthcare reform law (the Patient

Protection and Affordable Care Act or PPACA) with particular emphasis on access and delivery, financing, resource allocation and quality reporting/improvement relevant to ATS members. International context and consideration of missed opportunities and future priorities for advancing policy to improve delivery, quality and manage costs will be discussed.

Another important session is A92 “Lung Cancer Screening: What We Have Learned from the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) and What We Still Need to Know.” During this symposium, which will take place from 2 to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday,

Marc Moss, MD

May 15, presenters will examine this research study of men and women at risk for lung cancer. Sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, the trial of 50,000 current or former heavy smokers from more than 30 U.S. sites compared the use of low-dose helical CT and standard chest x-ray. Initial findings were released in November 2010.

“This trial demonstrated a 20.3 percent reduction in lung cancer mortality among participants in the CT arm of the study,” Dr. Moss said. “Early detection of lung cancer improves mortality. The results of this study will have major implications on how at-risk patients are screened for lung cancer.”

Scientific Breakthroughs
The annual “Scientific Breakthroughs of the Year” (C81) will examine the latest scientific discoveries in bioengineering and lung tissue engineering. This symposium, which will take place from 2 to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 17, will feature two keynote lectures and the presentation of outstanding abstracts submitted to the conference.

Donald Ingber, MD, PhD, will look at the potential for complex tissue microcultures to advance lung disease research in “A Human Breathing Lung-on-a-Chip for Drug Screening and Nanotoxicology Applications.” Dr. Ingber is founding director and core faculty member of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University.

In “Engineering Functional Lung Tissue: Progress and Challenges,” Laura Niklason, MD, PhD, vice-chair for research and professor of anesthesiology and of biomedical engineering at Yale School of Medicine, will present her research working toward being able to implant recellularized lung tissue.

Social Media
“My ATS 2011” brings social networking to the International Conference. “My ATS 2011” enables attendees to create a profile and begin searching for attendees with similar interests, speakers and former colleagues. Attendees can add in Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter accounts to be even more connected. Using this software, attendees can begin dialogues and discussions, plan reunions or just invite colleagues to meet for coffee during the conference.

The software can also be used to pre-set appointments with other attendees prior to arriving at the conference and plan to meet at the ATS alumni and group lounges, which will be conveniently located in the Exhibit Hall.

President’s Lecture
The President’s Lecture was established to provide a unique perspective on medicine and science from the vantage point of distinguished scientists, physicians and academicians.

This year, Steven Weinberger, MD, executive vice president and CEO of the American College of Physicians, will deliver the 2011 President’s Lecture during the ATS Membership Meeting, which begins at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 17. He will share his thoughts on healthcare change and the future role of the specialist and specialty education.

President’s Symposium
With an interest in global health growing, Dr. Moss said, the President’s Symposium will highlight new initiatives and strategies to reduce the overall burden of lung diseases around the world.

Speakers from the National Institutes of Health, the World Bank, the Fogarty International Center for Advanced Studies and the STOP TB Partnership will discuss the importance of developing global health leadership.

“The world is becoming a smaller place, and the impact of diseases in one part of the world has larger implications in other parts of the world,” said Dr. Moss. “We can learn from other international scientists and clinicians who have experience with treating lung diseases, and extrapolate their knowledge to help our patients.”