Plenary session will feature Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine’s Editor in Chief, veterinarian, Nancy Lung VMD, MS, and pediatric and adult pulmonologist at National Jewish Health and International Conference Committee Chair-elect, Jennifer Taylor-Cousar, MD, MSCS, ATSF discussing their work with Orangutans and respiratory health.
ATS President, Dr. M. Patricia Rivera, MD, ATSF, and International Conference Committee Chair, Dr. Debra Boyer, MD, MHPE, ATSF, will moderate this interview style discussion, "Saving the People of the Forest, One Chocolate Bar and One Nebulizer Treatment at a Time".
Dr. Lung and Dr. Taylor-Cousar will discuss how observation of disease presentation and response to prescribed therapeutic intervention in orangutans may provide new insights relevant to human chronic airway disease. Orangutans are 97% homologous to humans. Due to their relatedness, orangutans can contract human respiratory pathogens, resulting in acute and chronic airway disease.
The deforestation of millions of acres of rainforest to grow trees that produce palm oil is impacting their environment in a way that is resulting in their extinction. As one of our closest relatives, the impact on their environment affects us all. Through conservation efforts and use of medical treatments used in human lung disease, Drs. Lung and Taylor-Cousar will discuss how we can improve the likelihood of the survival of orangutans as a species, and the environment that affects respiratory health.
The Plenary Session also will include the ratification of the bylaws, 2024-2025 slate of officers as well as remarks from outgoing president M. Patricia Rivera, MD, ATSF, and incoming president Irina Petrache, MD, ATSF.
In addition, the following awards will be presented, including:
- Outstanding Educator Award
- Research Innovation & Translation Award
- Outstanding Clinician Award
- Philip Hopewell Prize for Leaders in Global Respiratory Health
