Isabella Hornick , 2025-05-05 11:37:00
Key takeaways:
- ATS 2025 keynote series topics include caring for unhoused individuals and genetic therapy development.
- ATS put together several lists of sessions to attend based on specific areas of interest.
The American Thoracic Society International Conference will be held May 16 to 21 in San Francisco with the goals of celebrating the latest research in pulmonology/critical care and helping attendees become strong advocates.
Notably, this year’s conference includes 557 education and scientific programs, 6,956 abstracts, 29,000 speakers/authors and 231 exhibitors, according to the ATSConference365 website.
Healio spoke with Debra Boyer, MD, MHPE, ATSF, international conference committee chair, ahead of the meeting to highlight sessions of importance, what’s new this year and how attendees should prepare.
Keynote series
Similar to previous years, attendees can begin their Sunday, Monday and Tuesday by attending the keynote session held from 8 to 8:45 a.m.
Sunday’s presentation is titled, “Providing health care for unhoused individuals,” and Boyer told Healio this is a timely and appropriate topic given the location of this year’s meeting.
“Unfortunately, there’s a high number of unhoused individuals in San Francisco,” Boyer said. “We’re going to talk about how ATS members can help to ensure that unhoused individuals have appropriate medical care and how we can support this population.”
On Monday, Boyer told Healio attendees can learn about a completely different topic during the keynote session titled, “The development of genetic therapies for people with respiratory disease.”
“This is going to be a really great topic, touching on a lot of novel and innovative ways to treat a variety of lung diseases,” Boyer said.
The last keynote session, held on Tuesday, will take the form of a panel discussion and focus on environmental health, including reflections on air quality science and how ATS members can advocate for necessary safeguards.
Highlighting important sessions
In addition to the keynote series, Boyer highlighted several “can’t miss” sessions during the day that are continuously brought back each conference.
On Sunday from 2:15 to 4:15 p.m., Monday from 9:15 to 11:15 a.m. and Monday from 2:15 to 4:15 p.m., attendees can hear about recently published pulmonary and critical care research presented by JAMA, The New England Journal of Medicine and the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
“These sessions include groundbreaking articles from those three journals that are released the day of those sessions,” Boyer told Healio.
Another noteworthy session held every year is the “Clinical trials symposium” that highlights data from phase 3 or large phase 2 trials being presented for the first time, Boyer said. This year, the session is on Sunday from 2:15 to 4:15 p.m. and includes four presentations.
“It’s going to include studies on wheezing in pediatric patients, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, treatments for sepsis and lung cancer screening,” Boyer told Healio. “It’s going to be a really important session to hear some late breaking topics.”
Along with the standard morning and afternoon sessions, ATS offers various midday sessions from 12 to 1 p.m. on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. On Tuesday, attendees can go to the Plenary Session from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. and hear Len Geiger, BS, double lung transplant recipient and practice development specialist at Evexias Health Solutions, tell his personal story.
For basic scientists, Boyer singled out the Basic Science Core that includes two sessions revolving around “developmental origins of lung disease across the life span.”
“One session discusses developmental programming across the age spectrum, and the other session addresses lung remodeling and regeneration across the lifespan,” Boyer told Healio.
The ATS conference does not limit itself to one general theme, but Boyer said a major topic found throughout this year’s meeting is diversity and health policy/advocacy.
“We have a number of sessions on making diversity a part of your clinical work, research, recruitment and retention,” Boyer told Healio. “They address how to be a strong advocate and how to be involved in the community that we all live and work in.”
Enhanced offerings at ATS 2025
Compared with last year’s meeting, Boyer told Healio three offerings have been improved/enhanced for the 2025 conference.
The first improved conference item pertains to the conference on-demand highlights. According to Boyer, attendees with access to these highlights will now be able to watch mini symposia in addition to symposia.
“We are increasing the type of sessions and the number of sessions that are available,” Boyer said.
“Even if you’re at the conference, there’s so much going on that often there are two things happening at the same time that you might like to attend,” she continued. “Hopefully if at least one of them is on the on-demand menu, then you can watch it later and still be able to see that as part of the conference.”
The early career programs that attendees must apply for have also been enhanced via more hands-on training, Boyer told Healio. Notably, these sessions take place on Friday and Saturday and are designed for undergraduates, medical students, residents, fellows and early faculty.
The final conference offering that has been improved for the 2025 meeting is the ATS Networking Super Center, and Boyer said the Inclusion Center within this hub is new this year.
“There’s a lot going on at the networking center for all attendees including international participants and early career professionals,” Boyer told Healio.
“I encourage attendees to come with an interest in networking and really connecting with each other,” she added.
How to prepare, what to expect
Before the first day of the conference, Boyer recommends that attendees access the ATSConference365 website.
“This is a way to explore the program in advance, work on your own schedule, figure out what sessions you’d like to attend and explore the different kinds of sessions,” Boyer told Healio.
“Attendees can expect, as we always have, a broad menu of everything, and we really anticipate that there is something for everyone,” Boyer added.
When prepping, attendees can also check out the lists of sessions that ATS put together based on specific topics/areas of interest, including:
“We have a mix of large sessions such as the Core sessions, as well as the Meet the Expert Seminars where you get to discuss a topic in depth with a small group and an expert in that field,” Boyer said.
When asked how attendees can make the most out of their time at the 2025 conference, Boyer told Healio it’s important to be optimistic and eager to learn.
“Come with an open mind,” Boyer said. “I always encourage folks to attend sessions in their areas of interest so they can learn more but try to explore a few things that you don’t know much about and want to learn more about. I say that both for senior faculty and younger individuals who are attending ATS for the first time.
“If you come with the interest of meeting folks, discussing similar interests and learning something new, and leave with some of those goals accomplished, you’ll have a wonderful conference,” Boyer added.
The Healio team will be on-site in San Francisco during ATS 2025. Follow our coverage of the meeting here and on X @HealioPulm.
For more information:
Debra Boyer, MD, MHPE, ATSF, can be reached at debra.boyer@nationwidechildrens.org.
