A feature that makes the ATS International Conference the world’s most important respiratory medicine conference is the variety of session formats that accommodate different learning styles according to the subject matter. Pre-conference Postgraduate Courses and Meet the Expert Seminars, for example, offer unique educational environments where professionals with varying specialties and experience levels can learn from leading experts in the fields of pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine.

“A critical part of the American Thoracic Society’s mission is education,” explained International Conference Committee Chair Jennifer L. Taylor, MD, MSCS, ATSF. “These sessions offer protected time to sit and learn in-depth about something important for your daily practice or research in ways that you can’t really replicate at home.”

On Friday and Saturday, May 15-16, more than 20 comprehensive full-day or half-day pre-conference Postgraduate Courses will examine adult and pediatric content across pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. While some Postgraduate Courses are didactic, or lecture-based, and others are structured around a hands-on, skills-based learning approach, both provide unique opportunities for participants to explore the latest guidelines and clinical practices with experienced specialists in their areas of expertise. These courses also incorporate group tasks to expand and strengthen attendees’ professional networks in an intimate environment.

Payment of a pre-conference course fee and pre-registration are required to participate in a Postgraduate Course. Fees vary between full- and half-day offerings. Continental breakfast, lunch, and light refreshments will be provided for full-day courses.

Meet the Expert Seminars are designed for small-group learning (30-50 individuals of all ages and skill levels) via interactive educational activities led by advanced researchers, clinicians, technology or procedural experts, and emerging independent academics. These sessions often begin with a 20- to 30-minute lecture, followed by a group discussion to explore the questions and challenges most urgent to audience members.

More than 35 hour-long Meet the Expert Seminars will be held from Sunday, May 17, through Tuesday, May 19, from 10:45–11:45 a.m. Seating is limited, and seminars often fill up quickly, so attendees are encouraged to pre-register. Registration for each Meet the Expert course has a $100 enrollment fee for ATS members and non-members.

The comprehensive list of Postgraduate Courses and Meet the Expert sessions is included below. Click on individual session links to learn more about each course’s structure and the topics that will be covered!

Postgraduate Courses: Friday, May 15

• PG1A Take It All In!: Comprehensive Review of Pediatric Pulmonology and Preparation for the Boards
• PG2 Ultrasound Unlocked: Advancing Ultrasound Practice and Instruction
• PG3 Bronch Day 2026: A Comprehensive, Hands-On Guide to Basic Bronchoscopy, EBUS, and Guided Bronchoscopy
• PG4 Sarcoidosis: What We Need to Know Today
• PG5 Advocacy Tools for Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine
• PG6 Best Practices in Pulmonary Function Testing
• PG7 COPD 2026: State of the Art
• PG8 Bronchiectasis and NTM Pulmonary Disease: Etiologies, Complex Case Management, and Updated Guidelines
• PG9 State of the Art: Lung Cancer in 2026
  

Postgraduate Courses: Saturday, May 16

• PG1B Take It All In!: Comprehensive Review of Pediatric Pulmonology and Preparation for the Boards
• PG10 Mechanistic and Multimodal OSA Treatment: Nerve Stimulation, Surgery, Oral Appliances, and Emerging Pharmacotherapy
• PG11 Pediatric Advanced Diagnostic and Interventional Bronchoscopy
• PG12 Supporting the Failing Heart: MCS and VA-ECMO for the Practicing Intensivist
• PG13 Interstitial Lung Disease: A Practical Approach to Diagnosis and Management
• PG14 Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing: Advances and Applications
• PG15 Asthma and Beyond: Molecular Mechanisms, Physiology, and Treatment*
• PG16 Building Better Care: A Hands-On Guide to Quality Improvement*
• PG17 From Ventilator Setup to Liberation: Practical Foundations and Implementation at the Bedside*
• PG18 AI in Medicine: Educating the Future, Transforming Practice*
• PG19 Wave Goodbye to Confusion: Right Heart Catheterization and Waveform Interpretation*
• PG20 Contemporary Questions in Pulmonary Infections in the Immunocompromised Host*
• PG21 Translational Windows into the Lung Microenvironment: Advances with Precision-Cut Lung Slices*

*Denotes half-day courses

Meet the Expert: Sunday, May 17

• MTE1 Trials in the Trenches? Practicalities of Initiation and Conduct of Clinical Trials in Critically Ill Populations
• MTE2 A Practical Guide to Using Generative AI in Research
• MTE3 Rewiring Motor Circuits: Precision Dosing of Intermittent Hypoxia Therapy
• MTE4 Small but Mighty – EVs in Lung Health and Disease
• MTE5 Bronchiectasis: A Silent Storm Behind the Cough
• MTE6 The Multifaceted Role of Flexible Bronchoscopy in Childhood Asthma: From Diagnosis to Phenotyping and Precision Care
• MTE7 Exploring Public Datasets and Integrating Multi-Omics for Translational Research: An Investigator’s Guide to Navigating the World of Omics
• MTE8 Advancing Pulmonary Rehab: Respiratory Muscle Training Across Care Settings
• MTE9 Complicated Pleural Disease: An Evidence Based Approach
• MTE10 Use of Biologic Therapies in the Treatment of Interstitial Lung Disease
• MTE11 Selection and Management of “High Risk” Lung Transplant Candidates
• MTE12 Shared Decisions = Shared Success: A Guide to LCS Shared Decision Making
• MTE13 Microplastics: Research Challenges, Opportunities, and Approaches

Meet the Expert: Monday, May 18

• MTE14 Improving Representativeness in Prospective Research
• MTE15 Potential and Pitfalls of AI for Clinicians and Educators
• MTE16 Teaching in the Trenches: Mastering Bedside Education in High-Acuity Settings
• MTE17 COPD and Homebased NIV – Introduction to the New CMS Coverage Determination
• MTE18 Facilitating Sleep During Critical Illness and Beyond
• MTE19 Lung Cancer Screening Adherence: A Deep Dive into an Important Quality Metric
• MTE20 Stories in Every Breath: Using Narrative Medicine to Strengthen Physician Identity
• MTE21 Management of Pulmonary Hypertension in Patients with Obesity
• MTE22 Unraveling the Storm: Managing Acute Exacerbations of Interstitial Lung Diseases
• MTE23 From Surviving to Thriving: Post-Traumatic Growth for Health Professionals & Trainees in High-Acuity Settings
• MTE24 Challenges in the Management of Tuberculosis in Lung Transplant Patients
• MTE25 Hospital Sleep Medicine: Bench to Bedside
• MTE26 Practical Approaches to Incorporating Novel AI Techniques into Clinical/Translational Research

Meet the Expert: Tuesday, May 19

• MTE27 From Flatline to First Draft: A Narrative Resuscitation Workshop for Burnout Recovery
• MTE28 Personalized Sleep Health: A Metabolic Medicine Frontier
• MTE29 Updated Bronchiectasis Guidelines: Integrating into Clinical Practice
• MTE30 Making Waves: Oscillometry Basics and Interpretation for Clinical and Research Application
• MTE31 Use of Sotatercept in the Real World – What Have We Learned So Far
• MTE32 Modeling the Diseased Lung Microenvironment: Experimental Strategies for Complex Co-Morbid Conditions
• MTE33 Navigating Infant Sleep Apnea: What to Do with an OAHI > 5
• MTE34 To Pneumonitis and Beyond: A Comprehensive Review of Dyspnea from Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
• MTE35 From Feathers to Antifibrotics: Exposures, Diagnosis, and Treatment in Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis
• MTE36 PH Related to ILD: Current Evidence and Outstanding Questions
• MTE37 The Cellular Landscape of COPD: Novel Insights from Genomics and Cell Biology