Featuring the best and most deserving abstracts submitted by trainees from across the globe, the ATS 2022 International Scholars Poster Colloquium was held on Saturday morning, May 14, and included 24 abstract presentations from young investigators representing 15 countries and 12 global assemblies.

For the majority of these young researchers, who all received the ATS International Trainee Scholarship to attend ATS 2022, this was their first opportunity to present their research to an international audience at a major conference outside of their home countries.

“I am so grateful for this opportunity to give my first international abstract presentation here at the ATS conference,” said Ogochukwu Ekete, from Nigeria, who presented research on diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea in a resource-limited setting. “I have to express gratitude also to my mentor and teacher, who is an international fellow of the ATS, for giving me the push to do this.”

Vivienne Kahlmann, of the Netherlands, presented findings from a trial looking at cognitive behavioral therapy in sarcoidosis patients. She likewise credited her mentors back home for their support, but also expressed her appreciation for the mentorship and guidance she has received from the ATS as a result of the International Scholars program.

“Just in the short time that I have been here, I have already received tremendous support and mentorship from people with ATS,” she said. “And not just advice on my presentation, which is very helpful, but advice on how to become more involved with ATS — how to become involved in committees, for example, and simply how to introduce myself and network. As a young investigator, they have made me feel very welcome.”

For Louis Bouchant, who traveled from France to present research on the safety and efficacy of bed verticalization in ARDS patients, this was an opportunity to follow in one of his mentor’s footsteps, so to speak.

“I was very happy and a little bit surprised when I found out that I was accepted. I am extremely proud because my boss, who designed this study with me, presented at this conference when he was very early in his career,” he said. “So, this was a very nice way to start off the ATS conference and a great chance to meet other young investigators from around the world. To present in my own country is kind of normal, but this is exceptional when you can present to the world.”

Following are the 2022 International Trainee Scholarship awardees and their abstracts:

• Karin Wildi, Australia — Early Clinical Improvement in ARDS Results from Selecting the Right Subphenotype for Anti-inflammatory Treatment — a Preclinical Randomized Blinded Ovine Study
• Luciana Heil, Brazil — Comparative Effects of Ketamine and Dexmedetomidine on Brain and Lung Damage in Experimental Acute Ischemic Stroke
• Naiara Leonardi, Brazil — Hospital Rehabilitation Using Elastic Bands Provides Early Improvements and Maintenance of Endothelial Function in Patients with Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (AECOPD): A Randomized Controlled Trial
• Kjell Håkansson, Denmark — Disease Control, Not Severity, Drives Welfare Resource Utilization in Young Adults with Asthma: A 15-Year Nationwide Cohort Study
• Louis Bouchant, France — Physiological Effects and Safety of Bed Verticalization in Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
• Athénaïs Boucly, France — External Validation of a Refined 4 Strata Risk Assessment Score from the French Pulmonary Hypertension Registry
• Pierre Gourdan, France — Multifocal Tuberculosis in 2021: What Place for Genetics?
• Babatunde Awokola, Gambia — Measuring Air Quality for Advocacy in Africa (MA3): Ambient PM2.5 Concentrations Over One-Year in 15 Locations in Eight Sub-Saharan African Countries Using Low-Cost Sensors
• Thomas Conlon, Germany — PRMT7 Epigenetically Regulates Monocyte Migration and COPD Pathogenesis
• Siti Widjanantie, Indonesia — Role of Pulmonary Rehabilitation Programs in Weaning Process of a Readmitted Patient with Oxygen Dependency in Severe Pulmonary Fibrosis after COVID-19 Infection
• Jacqueline Kagima, Kenya — Diagnostic Pleuroscopy Utilizing and Flexible Bronchoscope Inserted Through an Endotracheal Tube in Resource Limited Setting in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz, Netherlands — Gut and Serum Metabotypes Are Linked to Uncontrolled Asthma in Children from SysPharmPediA Study
• Justin De Brabander, Netherlands — Oral Imatinib Reduces Mortality in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patient through Endothelial Barrier Protection and Immunomodulation
• Vivienne Kahlmann, Netherlands — Online Mindfulness Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Fatigue in Patients with Sarcoidosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial
• Job Schippers, Netherlands — 90-Day Clinical Outcome of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients Treated with Imatinib
• Raewyn Scott, New Zealand — Smokers Undergoing Lung Cancer Screening with Diagnosed COPD Suffer the Highest Mortality Including Similar Cardiovascular Mortality as Diabetics
• Ogochukwu Ekete, Nigeria — Predictive Value of the STOP BANG Questionnaire and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale for the Diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in a Resource Limited Setting
• Sibomana Jean Pierre, Rwanda — Etiology and Outcome of Pleural Effusion at Butare University Teaching Hospital, Butare, Rwanda
• Lucia Pinilla Latorre, Spain — Plasma Profiling Reveals a Blood-Based Metabolic Fingerprint of Obstructive Sleep Apnea
• Sheng-Wei Pan, Taiwan — Soluble Programmed Death Protein-1 and Disease Progression in Patients with Nodular Bronchiectatic (NB) Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Lung Disease (NTM-LD)
• Ariel Finkielsztein, United Kingdom — A Recombinant Fragment of Human Surfactant Protein D (rfhSP-D) Decreases Inflammation in Ventilated Pre-term Lambs
• Ellen Gorman, United Kingdom — Repair of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in COVID-19 by Stromal Cell Administration (REALIST-COVID) Phase 2 Randomised Controlled Trial
• Hamish McAuley, United Kingdom — Frailty and Physical Performance in 1,133 Patients Five Months Following Hospitalization for COVID-19
• Hannah Mitchell, United Kingdom — Contribution of Area-Level Socioeconomic Deprivation to PICU Admission and Mortality