News & Insights|Event
PAIR Center at ATS 2026: American Thoracic Society International Conference
Orlando, FL May 17, 2026
Featured PAIR Center Researchers
George Anesi
Catherine Auriemma
Emily Campbell
Christopher Chesley
Joanna Hart
Meeta Prasad Kerlin
Rachel Kohn
Nicholas Kuhl
Alexander T. Moffett
Alexander Ortiz
Bhavik Patel
Benjamin Schmid
Anne Song
Gary Weissman
About
Please join us at the 2026 International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in Orlando, FL.
The schedule of our team’s presentations and awards is listed below.
For more schedule details, visit https://site.thoracic.org/conference.
* Denotes presenting author

Sunday, May 17
9:15 AM
A23 MORE THAN INHALERS: DETERMINANTS OF COPD CARE AND OUTCOMES (Poster Discussion Session)
Starving for Attention: A Mixed-Methods Study of Food Insecurity in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
*Joanna Hart, Isabella Li, Greer Tiver, Daniel Carter, Sarah Mitchell, Emily Blaum, Eric Underwood, Casey Whitman, Omar Elsakhawy
11:30 AM
A36 WHEN CONTROLLERS DON’T CONTROL: ASTHMA CARE IN THE REAL WORLD (Thematic Poster Session)
Disparities in Health‑Related Social Needs Prevalence Among Patients With Asthma: A Retrospective Cohort Study
*Bhavik Patel, Daniel Roth (PAIR Center EAB), Scott Halpern, Rachel Kohn
2:15 PM
A86 ILLNESS & IDENTITY: SYSTEMIC OPPRESSION & THE ETHICS OF CARE (Critical Care Track)
Embodied Inequality: Analytic Frameworks for Understanding Stress, Stigma and Health Outcomes in Marginalized Communities
*Christopher Chesley
Monday, May 18
9:15 AM
B14 WHOLE NEW WORLD OF DISCOVERY: LATE-BREAKING CLINICAL TRIALS (Mini Symposium)
Smoking Cessation Interventions Among Underserved Patients Referred for Lung Cancer Screening
*Joanna Hart, Shira Blady, Brian Bayes, Dorothy Sheu, Vanessa Madden, Emma Britez, Jenny Tian, Casey Whitman, Rachel Kohn, Scott Halpern
11:30 AM
B40 BSHSR LATE-BREAKING ABSTRACTS (Thematic Poster Session)
Quantifying Nurse and Clinician Contributions to Racial Disparities in Severity of Illness Among Mechanically Ventilated Patients
*Christopher Chesley, Yingying Lu, Scott Halpern, Aerielle Belk, Stefania Scott, Meeta Kerlin
11:30 AM
B55 SEDATION, MOVEMENT, AND MEANING: ICU PRACTICES THAT DEFINE RECOVERY (Thematic Poster Session)
Assessing the Construct Validity of Electronic Health Record-Based Definitions of Early Deep Sedation
*Nicholas Kuhl, Alexander Ortiz, Zhe Chen, Benjamin Schmid, Anuradha Vyas, Gary Weissman, Meeta Kerlin
2:15 PM
B96 PLACE, POWER, AND PRE-MORBIDITY: CONTEXTUAL DRIVERS OF CRITICAL ILLNESS (Mini Symposium)
Characterizing Real-World Use of Time-Limited Trials in Critical Care: A Multi-Center Focused Ethnography
*Emily Campbell, Scott Halpern
2:15 PM
B104 DELIVERING CRITICAL CARE: SYSTEMS, TIMING, AND OPERATIONAL DECISIONS (Poster Discussion Session)
(Poster Board # 113) Patient Preferred Language and Continuous Neuromuscular Blockade During Invasive Mechanical Ventilation: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study
*Alexander Ortiz, Christopher Chesley, Benjamin Schmid, Anuradha Vyas, Gary Weissman
Tuesday, May 19
9:15 AM
C9 SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF RECOVERY (Scientific Symposium)
Critical Measurement of Social Determinants of Health
*Joanna Hart
9:15 AM
C16 MARKETS AND MANDATES: HEALTH POLICY AND PULMONARY OUTCOMES (Mini Symposium)
Safety, Conflict, and Care: Characterizing the Role of Uniformed Security in the Medical Intensive Care Unit
*Joanna Hart, Anooshey Ikhlas, Andrew Parra, Brandon Tang, Daniel Carter, Anne Song, Christopher Chesley
9:15 AM
C22 DELAYS, DETOURS, AND DECISIONS: EXAMINING CRITICAL CARE DELIVERY AND OUTCOMES (Poster Discussion Session)
(Poster Board # 1019) Validating Clinician Value-added Modeling for Mechanically Ventilated Patients: Quantifying the Roles Physicians and Nurses Play in Disease Trajectory
*Christopher Chesley, Yingying Lu, Rachel Kohn, Aerielle Belk, Stefania Scott, Meeta Kerlin
(Poster Board # 1022) Discrepancies Between Perceived and Objective Health in a Prospective Cohort of Acute Respiratory Failure Survivors
*Abigail Black, Melanie Bahti, Casey Whitman, Saied Beckford, Paola Rosa, Catherine Auriemma
11:30 AM
C33 FROM DATA TO BREATHS: STORIES OF ASTHMA UNFOLDED (Thematic Poster Session)
Clinical Remission Rates After Biologic Therapy Initiation in Severe Asthma
Kimberly Lactaoen, Alexander Moffett, Gary Weissman
11:30 AM
C35 COPD BEYOND THE CLINIC: CARE, CONTEXT, AND CONSEQUENCES (Thematic Poster Session)
Absence of Selection Effects in Health‑Related Social Needs Screening Among Asthma and COPD Patients in a National US Health System
*Bhavik Patel, Daniel Roth (PAIR Center EAB), Scott Halpern, Rachel Kohn
11:30 AM
C36 WORDS, WIRES, AND WISDOM: COMMUNICATION AND CARE IN THE ICU (Thematic Poster Session)
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Inpatient Palliative Care Consults in the United States: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
*Anne Song, Chelsea K. Brown, Zhe Chen, Michael Harhay, Kate Courtright
11:30 AM
C56 STRENGTHENING CRITICAL CARE DELIVERY: EDUCATION, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT (Thematic Poster Session)
Using Large Language Models to Align an Artificial Intelligence Decision Support System With Safe Ventilator Management Practices
*Benjamin Schmid, Antonia Angeli Gazola, Nicholas Bishop, Alexander Ortiz, Gary Weissman
Wednesday, May 20
8:15 AM
D4 OPTIMIZING CRITICAL CARE THROUGH LEARNING HEALTH SYSTEMS: COMPONENTS AND CONSIDERATIONS (Critical Care Track)
Implementation Trials as a Means to Support a LHS
*Meeta Kerlin (Chair)
8:15 AM
D12 INEQUITIES BY DESIGN: SOCIAL AND STRUCTURAL DRIVERS OF PULMONARY HEALTH (Mini Symposium)
Health-Related Social Needs of Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit: A Mixed Methods Study
Joanna Hart
11:00 AM
D82 THE AGE OF INCLUSION: BUILDING BETTER CRITICAL CARE TRIALS FOR OLDER ADULTS (Critical Care Track)
Meaning Over Metrics: Designing and Collecting Trial Outcomes based on the Values of Older Adults
*Catherine Auriemma (Chair)
When Research Listens: A Caregiver’s Voice in the Future of Critical Care Trial Design
*Rebecca Kirch (PAIR Center EAB)
11:00 AM
D102 METHODS, MEASUREMENT, AND MEANING: CROSS-CUTTING CHALLENGES IN PULMONARY CARE (Poster Discussion Session)
(Poster Board # 201) Restriction With Normal Spirometry: A Retrospective Cohort Study
*Alexander Moffett, Gary Weissman
(Poster Board # 202) Mapping the Zone of Uncertainty in Pulmonary Function Test Interpretation
*Alexander Moffett, Gary Weissman
(Poster Board # 222) Organizational Factors and Hospital Adaptation and Resiliency in the Shadow of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study Among Frontline Acute Care Clinicians
*George Anesi, Aerielle Belk, Paola Rosa, Erich Dress, Stefania Scott, Scott Halpern
Awards & Recognition
ATS Fellow 2026
George Anesi
ATS Fellow 2026
Cathrine Auriemma
Rachel Kohn
Vice Chair of the Health Equity and Diversity Committee
Christopher Chesley
Invited ATS Moderators
Catherine Auriemma, Joanna Hart, Meeta Kerlin, Rachel Kohn, Anne Song, Gary Weissman