ATS Breathe Easy

 The Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform Act (SOAR Act) is a piece of pending legislation establishes certain requirements with respect to the payment and provision of supplemental oxygen and related services under Medicare. But how would this legislation affect patients, and how is the ATS Nursing Assembly leading the charge in advocating for their needs? Host Patti Tripathi explores this question,...

At the 2025 ATS International Conference, Joshua Fessel, MD, PhD, ATSF, formerly of the NIH, and Shade Afolabi, MD, a pediatric pulmonologist practicing in Texas, sat down to discuss the extensive ramifications the cuts to the NIH caused researchers, clinicians, and patients. With host Erika Moseson, MD, MA, they explore the effects of losing funding on critical research projects, how patient fami...

 On this episode of the ATS Breathe Easy podcast, meet the newly-elected ATS President, Raed Dweik, MD, MBA, ATSF. Host Amy Attaway, MD, MS, talks with Dr. Dweik on his vision for the ATS, and what he is most excited for in the fields of respiratory health, critical care, and how the ATS is braced to help members face ongoing challenges.  Did you miss the ATS 2025 International Conference? Or were...

On this edition of the ATS Breathe Easy: The Latest, host Patti Tripathi and Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research President and CEO Mary McGowan discuss sarcoidosis research and the Champions for Change movement to encourage companies to allow employees to use paid time off to enroll in clinical trials. To learn more, go to ignorenomore.org.  Did you miss the ATS 2025 International Conference? Or w...

 In our continuing series on What You May Have Missed at ATS 2025, Sunil Kapoor, MD, Medical College of Georgia, and host Erika Moseson, MD, MA, of the Air Health Our Heath podcast, discuss their takeaways from the "Strategies to Reduce Pulmonary and Critical Care Practice Emissions" networking event at ATS 2025. This includes how practices can reduce their carbon footprint and how better climate...

 This week, in our series on What You May Have Missed at ATS 2025, host Eddie Qian, MD, of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, discusses post intensive care syndrome with Justin Banerdt, MD, MPH, Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Banerdt presented his research on the subject, “Characterizing Critical Illness Recovery Trajectories: Exploring Risk Factors for Post Intensive Care Syndro...

Continuing our series on What You May Have Missed at ATS 2025, host Amy Attaway, MD, MS, of Cleveland Clinic, dives into key topics from the Clinical Year in Review with Sara Auld, MD, MSc, Emory University.  Did you miss the ATS 2025 International Conference? Or were you unable to attend some key sessions? Go to conference.thoracic.org/program/conference-highlights/ to purchase your ATS Conferenc...

This latest episode in the series "What You May Have Missed at ATS 2025," features Donna Appell, RN, immediate-past-chair of  the Public Advisory Roundtable (PAR), a unique feature of the American Thoracic Society. Helping to integrate the patient perspective in research and clinical care, PAR is comprised of nearly 15 respiratory-related patient organizations. Ms. Appell sat down with host Patti...

This week's episode dives into COPD treatment. When considering inhaler devices, what is the best strategy for COPD patients? Host Amy Attaway, MD, MS, associate director of the COPD Center at  Cleveland Clinic welcomes Anthony Anzueto, MD, professor of medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center and chief of the pulmonary section for the South Texas Veterans Healthcare System in San...

This episode begins our series on "What you may have missed at ATS 2025." We produce over 450 million tons of plastics each year, the vast majority of which has accumulated in the environment. Increasing evidence suggests that microplastics can accumulate in a number of different organs such as the brain, but what of the lungs?  In this episode, Adam Soloff, PhD (self-described "Lorax of the Thora...

Erika Moseson, MD, of the Air Health Our Heath podcast hosts this week's episode with guest Daniel Croft, MPH, ATSF. Dr. Croft is associate professor in the Department of Environmental Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center. On this episode we share insights from the Climate Change and Respiratory Health: Opportunities to Contribute to Environmental Justice: An Official American Th...

Host Patti Tripathi talks to Alpha-1 patient advocate Len Geiger ahead of his ATS 2025 International Conference plenary presentation. He was diagnosed at age 35 with a rare lung disease. He almost lost it all, but Len didn't lose his fight.  "Everybody can do something more than they're doing right now," he says.

Patti Tripathi talks with Margot Kushel, MD,  and Robynne Rose-Haymer ahead of their keynote presentation on providing care to the unhoused population on May 18 at ATS 2025.  Dr. Kushel is chief of the Division of Health Equity and Society and director of the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations and the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative.  Ms. Rose-Haymer is the director of the Cal...

This episode is part two of our discussion on AI. Host Eddie Qian, MD, (Vanderbilt University Medical Center) and Matthew Churpek, MD, PhD, MPH (University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health) explore the use of large language models in clinical practice, weigh the benefits vs risks and the role clinicians may play in establishing guardrails. "Patients don't just walk out of the text...

Rolling back major EPA policies that protect our health from air pollution exposure is dangerous and even fatal in some cases. This episode features the chair and vice-chair of the ATS Environmental Health Policy Committee, Alison Lee, MD, (Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai) and Gillian Goobie, MD, PhD (University of British Columbia). Patti Tripathi hosts.  09:00 What is the evidence for poli...

Host Amy Attaway, MD, (Cleveland Clinic) is joined by two leaders in sleep medicine— Neomi Shah, MD, MPH,  (Icahn School at Mount Sinai)  and Reena Mehra, MD, MS, ATSF (University of Washington)—to discuss the recent ATS Workshop Report: “The Great Controversy of OSA Treatment for Cardiovascular Risk: Advancing the Science Through Expert Consensus.” Together, they explore the complex relationship...

MaryLuz Fuentes, MD, a former clinician and double-lung transplant survivor will typically say this to other IPF patients: "We patients may be short of breath, but not short of hope." On this episode with host Patti Tripathi, Dr. Fuentes talks about what led up to her double-lung transplant three years ago and what's in store for her at the ATS 2025 International Conference in May. 

Nirav Bhakta, MD, was the lead author of the ATS Workshop Report on Race-Neutral Testing. He joins Meredith McCormack, MD, MHS, on the latest Breathe Easy podcast to discuss the origin of race-based algorithms and advice on implementing race-neutral testing in your pulmonary function lab. Amy Attaway, MD, Cleveland Clinic, hosts.  ATS statement on race and ethnicity in pulmonary function test inte...

Internationally-recognized tuberculosis expert Philip Hopewell, MD, reflects on the impact of funding cuts on TB research and infections both in the U.S. and abroad. Eddie Qian, MD, hosts. Dr. Qian is also co-host of the ICU Ed and Todd-cast podcast. 06:47 Why Kansas? 09:13 How does TB infection rates compare to HIV globally? 14:48 What are new guidelines for TB treatment? Resources: Updates on Tr...

This episode dives into lessons learned from the ATS Vaccine Initiative with Robert Stansbury, MD, ATSF, the West Virginia University Medicine vaccine project lead. Dr. Stansbury talks about vaccine uptake in the rural population as compared to urban areas. Joining him is Dona Upson, MD, of the University of New Mexico, and a member of the ATS Vaccine Initiative Advisory Council. Dr. Upson shares...

M. Patricia Rivera, MD, ATSF, immediate past-president of the American Thoracic Society and lung cancer expert, offers up a compelling argument for trusting science. As we're buffeted by government actions and disease outbreaks, it is critical that clinicians and public health officials work together to minimize the impact. Patti Tripathi hosts. 06:46 What is immune amnesia and how does it relate...

In this episode of ATS Breathe Easy, host Patti Tripathi welcomes two leading experts to discuss the critical role of vaccines in protecting children and high-risk populations. Paul Offit, MD, renowned scientist and vaccine advocate, and Tina Hartert, MD, MPH, professor of medicine and director of the Center for Asthma Research, provide an in-depth look at vaccine policies, hesitancy, and the cons...

ATS Scholar editor Nitin Seam, MD, ATSF - clinical professor of Medicine at George Washington University and the Uniformed Services University - shares some takeaways from his editorial on the ATS journals' position on the evolving role of artificial intelligence on scientific research and review. Eddie Qian, MD, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, hosts. 06:35 - What are the main takeaways o...

Amy Attaway, MD, hosts the latest ATS Breathe Easy episode with former ATS President Monica Kraft, MD, and Asthma and Allergy Network's Chief Research Officer, De De Gardner, DrPH, discuss the benefits and challenges of biologics for asthma. What factors guide selection of a specific biologic for asthma? When should a patient transition from one biologic to another?  08:15 What does shared decisio...

Self-described pulmonary fibrosis warrior and former journalist, Teresa Barnes, joins host and former CNN news anchor Patti Tripathi for the premiere episode of ATS Breathe Easy, the Latest. Ms. Barnes is chief executive of Pulmonary Fibrosis Warriors and former chair of the ATS Public Advisory Roundtable . PAR is comprised of 12-15 executives of respiratory-related patient interest organizations...