Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation Sets Scientific Record at Upcoming Summit

The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) recently announced that the number of scientific poster presentations on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and interstitial lung diseases (ILD) to be displayed at the upcoming PFF Summit 2015: From Bench to Bedside in Washington, D.C., reached a record.

The PFF Summit 2015: From Bench to Bedside is the third biennial international healthcare conference on PF organized by PFF. The goal of the event is to provide a collaborative environment where education and awareness on PF can be improved, and to identify novel therapeutic options for the condition.

“The PFF Summit is a unique event that combines an innovative scientific program with educational sessions that address the current and ongoing needs of the pulmonary fibrosis community,” said Andrew H. Limper, MD, Chair, Scientific Advisory Committee, PFF Medical Advisory Board, in a press release. “This year we are pleased to offer a robust research agenda that examines a broad range of topics advancing the field, including promising early-stage research, patient outcome optimization and the latest data on currently available treatments.”

Leading academic institutions and industry leaders will present more than 70 posters at the Nov. 12–14 event, 30 of which are from the PFF Care Center Network (CCN). The CCN currently comprises 21 medical centers in 20 different states in the country, and relies on a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to offer comprehensive care to patients with PF, and ease access to relevant support services for patients or their families. The CCN is planned to expand into 40 sites by the end of the year.

PFF highlights a list of five presentations on the Summit scientific program that will be held on Nov. 12. According to the press release, these are:

• Inducible T-cell Costimulator (ICOS) Expression on CD4 T Cells Predicts Outcomes in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
  Catherine A. Bonham MD, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellow, University of Chicago
• Rare Variants in RTEL1 are Associated with Pulmonary Fibrosis
  Jonathan Kropski MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
• Predictors of Mortality Do Not Predict Disease Progression in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
  Brett Ley, Clinical Instructor, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of California San Francisco
• TOLLIP, MUC5B and the Response to N-acetylcysteine Among Individuals with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
  Justin Oldham, MD, MS, Fellow, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Chicago
• Quantitative CT Densitometry Detects Subclinical Interstitial Lung Disease and Predicts Mortality in Community Dwelling Adults: The MESA Lung Fibrosis Study
  Anna Podolanczuk, MD, Postdoctoral Clinical Fellow, Columbia University Medical Center