The annual Clinical Trials Symposium at the ATS International Conference is always a hotly anticipated session among attendees, featuring the latest impactful research in pulmonary medicine. This year’s session will be hosted inside the Moscone Center, Room 25, Hall E (North Building, Exhibition Level), from 2:15 to 4:15 p.m. PT, Sunday, May 18.

“One of the purposes of the ATS International Conference is to present cutting-edge science that’s going to impact clinical care, and that’s something we hold true to when we’re selecting these trials,” said Debra Boyer, MD, MHPE, ATSF, a pediatric pulmonologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and chair of the International Conference Committee.

The leaders of four large phase 2 and phase 3 trials will present the results of their research for the first time in a public forum. The novel findings will offer fresh insights into topics relevant to the broad expertise of conference attendees.

“This session is meant to highlight high-profile clinical trials that are likely going to be published in very impactful journals and carry a relatively immediate impact on patient care,” explained International Conference Committee Chair-Elect Jennifer Taylor-Cousar, MD, MSCS, ATSF, National Jewish Health. “We try to ensure our selections are representative of what ATS members are interested in as well.”

This year’s lineup will examine findings from a wide-ranging set of breaking clinical trials, highlighting topics such as:

• Therapies for adults with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
• Treatments for wheezing pediatric patients who require urgent care.
• Treatments for patients with sepsis and acute respiratory failure.
• Optimizing the cancer screening processes.

“Even if a trial doesn’t speak to a specific area in which attendees practice, there are things all can learn from these trials,” Dr. Boyer said. “I’m a pediatric pulmonologist, and even though only one of the trials speaks to pediatric patients specifically, there’s a lot I can learn from the other studies about ways to do research or clinical insights that I can take back to my patient population.”

The session’s broad range of content and diverse presenters all but ensure that attendees will learn something new about a field relevant to their practice or research.

“This is one of the sessions people get most excited about because you might hear the news that’s going to change care tomorrow, and that’s really the goal,” Dr. Taylor-Cousar said.