Meeting Overview and Objectives

More than 45 speakers and session chairs will participate at the upcoming 2-day conference. Presentations and discussions will focus on evidenced-based practices for the care of patients who are critically ill with ARDS and also sepsis and pneumonia. Sessions will enhance the knowledge of attendees about definitions, diagnosis, and clinical management of Acute Lung Injury; preclinical and clinical investigations; and new discoveries about the basic science behind Acute Lung Injury.

Day 1 focuses on ARDS phenotypes, limitations of defining ARDS by phenotype, and the relationship of phenotype to disease outcomes; protocols for clinical management; and preclinical studies and endpoints in clinical trials.
Day 2 spotlights mediators of acute lung injury, cell death, cytoprotection, stem cell therapies, and the role of lung innate immunity.
A poster reception, following the scientific sessions on Friday, will provide an excellent forum for researchers to present their cutting-edge science.
A Banquet Dinner on Friday evening will feature a presentation by Derek C. Angus, MD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Critical Care Medicine and Director of CRISMA (Clinical Research, Investigation, and Systems Modeling of Acute Illnesses) Center at the University of Pittsburgh.

Educational Objectives

The educational objectives of this conference are to describe and discuss the latest clinical and research advances as they apply to acute lung injury. Presentations and discussions will focus on evidenced-based practices for the care of patients who are critically ill with ARDS and also sepsis and pneumonia.

Topics to be covered at the conference include:

Consensus (or the lack of it) on the Definition of ARDS
The ARDS Phenotype and its Relationship to Disease Outcomes
Clinical Management Variables which Modify Disease Outcome
Roadblocks to Successful ARDS Clinical Trials
The Funding of Clinical Trials in ARDS
Lung Damage: Novel Mediators of ALI
Cellular Death and Cytoprotection
Lung Repair: Tissue Regeneration and Stem Cells
Lung Innate Immunity

Upon completion of this conference, the attendees will:

Understand the current definition of ARDS and the limitations of defining ARDS and disease outcome based on phenotyping;
Understand the current approaches in clinical management of acute lung injury including ventilator strategies;
Be able to explain the current challenges for successful ARDS clinical trials;
Be aware of the newer signaling mediators of ARDS involved in cellular injury, death, and cytoprotection;
Be aware of existing preclinical studies on the use of stem cells in acute lung injury;
Understand novel pathways implicated in the lung’s innate immune response.