Welcome New ATS President, Polly Parsons, MD!

Yesterday, at the ATS Plenary Session, ATS Immediate Past President Marc Moss, MD, welcomed incoming ATS President Polly Parsons, MD.

Dr. Parsons serves as the E. L. Amidon Professor of Medicine, and chair of the Department of Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine, where she is also a pulmonary and critical care physician. A member of the ATS since 1989, Dr. Parsons is currently a member of the Members in Transition and Training Committee and has previously been a member of the Nominating, Finance, Publications Policy, Clinicians Advisory, Membership, Assembly on Critical Care Planning, and Program and Budget committees. She was also a chairman of the Training Committee from 2005 to 2006, and currently serves on the editorial board of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 

Dr. Parsons outlined the Executive Committee vision for the year to come, including expanded global outreach by the ATS.

Reminder: Submit Your Manuscript for a Focused Issue of AJRCMB

The American Thoracic Society is accepting original research contributions and concise translational reviews on cellular senescence in lung biology and disease and single cell approaches to lung disease for  the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology (AJRCMB). The focused issue will be published in 2019. All submissions must be received by Monday, October 1, 2018.

Submission Guidelines

• All submissions should conform to AJRCMB’s formatting requirements as outlined in the Instructions for Contributors.
• Online submission cover letters should mention your interest in appearing in the focused issue. Please specify which topic.

Authors with questions can contact Marc Bendian.

Missed Something at ATS 2018 in San Diego? Catch Up Online!

The ATS 2018 International Conference, featuring 6,810 abstracts and case reports, more than 500 sessions and at least 800 speakers, will come to a close today.

If you weren’t able to make it to everything you’d hoped, #ATS2018 can help! Follow the ATS on Facebook to see segments filmed throughout the conference, covering a variety of programming. You can also connect with ATS bloggers, such as Ann Wu, who documented their experiences at the conference in real-time.

Select sessions will also be available on the Best of ATS, a yearly compilation of educational material recorded during the conference, including PG Courses, Scientific Symposia, Core Curriculum Sessions, Workshops, and General Sessions. 

To see photos from the conference, follow @atscommunity on Instagram and Twitter.

Silencing Science

In a press conference, “Silencing Science,” held this week at ATS 2018, experts discussed proposed changes to EPA data rules. The new rules would mandate that all research studies used for policy-setting purposes make all original data sets, methodology, and other research tools publicly available to allow independent verification of the research conclusions. 

The panel, comprised of George Thurston, DSc; Mary Rice, MD, MPH; and Ed Avol, MS; and moderated by ATS Executive Director Stephen Crane, PhD, MPH, expressed concerns over the implications of the proposal, including how it would affect current environmental regulations and by extension, patient health.

The current deadline for comment on the rule is May 30, 2018. Earlier this month, the ATS led a sign-on letter campaign, comprised of 15 medical and public health organizations, requesting that EPA grant a 60-day extension of the public comment period. 

Recent Podcast Round-Up:

Section On Medical Education           The Job Search with TIME

Clinical Ethics                                  Medical Ethics Education

Critical Care                                    Critical Perspective: ARDS Sub-phenotypes with Dr. Carolyn Calfee

Critical Care                                    Volume Chaser

Thoracic Oncology                            Thoracic Oncology Programming at ATS 2018[BS1]