International Conference Debut: Four Respiratory Societies Join to Discuss COPD in the Americas


On Saturday, May 20, the Respiratory Societies of the Americas session will debut with a focus on COPD: The Challenges of Access to Medicines and the Impact of Public and Private Health Policies in the Americas.

The ATS has invited all respiratory societies in the Americas to attend. Representatives of the four societies will discuss perspectives from their respective countries and regions from 1:30–3:15 p.m. ET in the International Participants Center in Hall D of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. A networking session will follow until 4 p.m. This is an invitation-only event.

  • United States: Francesca Polverino, MD, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine, representing the ATS
  • Latin America: Gustavo Zabert, MD, regular associate professor and director of the pneumonology training program, Faculty of Medical Science at the National University of Comahue, Argentina, representing the Asociacion Latinoamericana de Torax
  • Brazil: Frederico Leon Arrabal Fernandes, MD, DrPH, a physician at the Pulmonary Function and Ergospirometry Service of the Instituto do Coração do Hospital das Clínicas at the Universidade de São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil, representing the Brazilian Thoracic Society
  • Canada: Mohit Bhutani, FRCPC, MD, FCCP, professor of pulmonary medicine and director of the asthma and COPD clinics, University of Alberta, Canada, representing the Canadian Thoracic Society.

ATS Past President Juan Carlos Celedón, MD, DrPH, the Niels K. Jerne Professor of Pediatrics and professor of medicine, epidemiology and human genetics at the University of Pittsburgh, and the division chief of pulmonary medicine at the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, will moderate the session with Margareth Dalcolmo, MD, PhD, National School of Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Brazil.

Don’t Miss ATS 2024 Highlights: On Demand

Don’t forget that ATS 2024 Highlights: On Demand are available to all conference registrants! On Demand will give you access to the Opening Ceremony, Plenary Session, Keynote Series, Clinical Year in Review, Adult Clinical Core Curriculum, and so much more. The topics will cover ILD, asthma, health equity, and CF, to name just a few. On Demand content will be accessible to all ATS 2024 full conference and On Demand registrants until March 2025.