Conference: American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference, San Diego, California, USA, May 18–23, 2018.
Conference Highlight: The conference covered groundbreaking research in sleep medicine, pulmonary and critical care.
Conference Summary: The American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference was a great opportunity for researchers and clinicians to connect and share ideas on the latest scientific findings with leaders in respiratory health and sleep research. The conference started with 2-days of postgraduate courses divided into 30 sessions, with the following 4-days packed with mini-symposia, poster presentations, seminars and networking events.
One of the important mini symposia related to Dr. Kabir’s area of research was the association between sleep disordered breathing, cardiovascular diseases and mortality. During this session, a group from Boston reported that the characteristics of a respiratory event and not just the drop in blood oxygen level are associated with mortality. According to their findings, the duration of the respiratory events and the duration of recovery to return to baseline after the event are important risk factors for mortality, in addition to the drop in oxygen saturation.
Another important part of the conference was the early morning Faculty Development Seminars targeted towards early to mid-career clinical and research faculties, health professionals, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students. At these seminars, the main discussion revolved around the potential impact of changing institutions on research productivity and the importance of developing a rational individual career development plan based on where one sees oneself in the next 5 years. There were also discussions on strategies to promote professional academic career development such as engaging with colleagues using social media tools.