Assemblies Brochure 2018

2 AMERICAN THORACIC SOCIETY ALL ABOUT ASSEMBLIES WHAT ARE ASSEMBLIES? The American Thoracic Society has 14 assemblies that are subdivisions of the Society composed of members with like interests within the broad fields of respiratory, critical care and sleep medicine. The purpose of an assembly is to improve the collection, interpretation and dissemination of information; improve communication among members; and participate in the planning of the International Conference. Assemblies are also responsible for creating and updating ATS official documents and ATS patient information series fact sheets. ATS Assemblies • Assembly on Allergy, Immunology & Inflammation (AII) • Assembly on Behavioral Science and Health Services Research (BSHSR) • Assembly on Clinical Problems (CP) • Assembly on Critical Care (CC) • Assembly on Environmental, Occupational, and Population Health (EOPH) • Assembly on Pulmonary Infections and Tuberculosis (PI-TB) • Assembly on Nursing (NUR) • Assembly on Pediatrics (PEDS) • Assembly on Pulmonary Circulation (PC) • Assembly on Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) • Assembly on Respiratory Cell & Molecular Biology (RCMB) • Assembly on Respiratory Structure & Function (RSF) • Assembly on Sleep & Respiratory Neurobiology (SRN) • Assembly on Thoracic Oncology (TO) The fourteen ATS assemblies and three sections are at the heart of the Society’s mission. Through these groups, ATS members review, analyze and disseminate the latest basic science, translational and clinical information. Their collaborative way of working brings expertise from many different institutions, not to mention countries, to bear on scientific problems and clinical issues. This “meeting of the minds” often results in a dialogue that advances biomedical sciences, improves patient care and reduces the prevalence of disease. One of the most important functions of the assemblies is programming the ATS International Conference. Among those in the respiratory community, the conference is widely recognized as featuring “the best science.” This is no accident. Our assemblies reflect our members’ commitment to science. Each year, ATS members and past conference attendees are invited to propose sessions for the next year’s conference. From these proposals, the most knowledgeable experts in each assembly develop the conference program. They also program the presentation of original research by reviewing the more than 6,000 abstracts submitted each year. In recent years, a special emphasis has been placed on presenting sessions with the basic, translational and clinical science perspectives all being represented by leaders in their fields. This often requires assemblies to jointly organize sessions, something we believe enhances the learning experience of attendees. The once solid lines between different fields of medicine are being erased by scientific discoveries, and the International Conference reflects this trend.