Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation Announces Program for PFF Summit 2015

The program for the upcoming PFF Summit 2015: From Bench to Bedside has been announced by the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF), the organizer of the event. The third biennial international healthcare conference on pulmonary fibrosis (PF) will take place between November 12 and 14 in Washington, D.C., and will include some of the most renowned names in the field of PF, a disabling and life-threatening condition that causes progressive scarring of the lungs.

As part of its announcement, the PFF highlighted key presentations that will be featured at the conference, including two keynotes that will be given by PF patient care specialists. On November 13, Janet Woodcock, MD, the director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will host “The Future of Drug Development in PF.” On the following day, the president and CEO of Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, Pat Furlong, will present “Collaborative Networks as Tools for Improving Clinical Care.”

“The PFF Summit 2015 is a unique event that provides a forum for both health care providers and patients to engage and collaborate,” stated Harold R. Collard, MD, the Chair of the Summit Education and Organizing Committee, PFF Senior Medical Advisor and Chair of the Research Advisory Forum, in a press release. “We are thrilled by the incredible group of speakers who have agreed to share their expertise with us and by the strong support that the PFF Summit 2015 is receiving from our community.”

In addition to medical experts, patients, caregivers and advocates will also participate in sessions and panels, sharing their experience with the disease and addressing a wide range of topics. R. Bruce Snyder, the PFF’s ambassador, will discuss the future of clinical trials in PF. PFF ambassadors and support group leaders Dave Sherry and John Morthanos will discuss “Leveraging the PFF Care Center Network,” while the PFF ambassadors Pete Mulliner and Charolette Saunders will address the topic “Patient Perspective: Living Well with Pulmonary Fibrosis.”

Prior to the start of the event, the foundation will host a pre-conference patient and caregiver session on the integration of patients and caregivers into the process of pulmonary fibrosis management, rehab and therapy. After that, small interactive group sessions will take place under the topic “Taking Care of Yourself: Shared Health Care Decision Making.” Participants will also partake in two luncheons, one for them to learn effective advocacy tools and another one that will present the results of a new survey on managing and living with PF.

The PFF announced the opening of registration for the PFF Summit 2015: From Bench to Bedside last May. Visit the website of the event or call 888.733.6741 to register or learn more about the full program of the PFF Summit 2015, an event focused on fostering a collaborative environment to improve education and awareness of PF and to identify new approaches to treat and ultimately cure the disease. Sponsorship opportunities are available at http://www.pffsummit.org/sponsors.html.