Registration is under way for this fall’s Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation Summit in Nashville, a key focus of which will be new research on the disease.

Those interested in presenting their studies at the conference, which will run from Nov. 9-11, can submit abstracts of their work between June 15 and Aug. 1 at https://proposalcentral.altum.com/. You can register for the summit at pffsummit.org.

The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation organizes the annual summits to improve pulmonary fibrosis education and awareness and identify new treatment approaches. Boehringer Ingelheim and Genentech, a Roche company, help sponsor the event.

Those attending will include patients, including transplant recipients; family members; caregivers; medical professionals; researchers; and pharmaceutical industry representatives.

For the first time ever, the summit will include sessions dedicated to newly diagnosed patients and family members, those who have been living with pulmonary fibrosis, those who are lung transplant recipients, and those who have lost a loved one to the chronic respiratory disease.

Topics that other sessions will cover include the genetics of pulmonary fibrosis, the promise of genetic-based and personalized approaches to treatment, stem cell-based therapies, symptom management, tips on living with oxygen therapy, and understanding the research and clinical-trial processes.

Care-related sessions will include how to maximize the impact of current pulmonary fibrosis therapies, how to get the most out of a doctor visit, and how to deal with caregiver burnout. Another topic will be the financial ramifications of pulmonary fibrosis, such as Medicare/Medicaid coverage, other insurance issues, and estate planning.

You can find more information about the program at pffsummit.org/program.html.

Three-day Continuing Medical Education and Continuing Education programs will be held in conjunction with the summit. Dedicated to health professionals, the sessions will cover topics such as pulmonary fibrosis genetics, environmental influences, and advances in diagnosis and therapeutics.

“This year’s conference offers our community an extraordinary opportunity to engage directly with leading researchers and physicians,” Dr. Gregory P. Cosgrove, the foundation’s chief medical officer, said in a news release. “Our goal is to foster a collaborative environment to improve education and awareness of pulmonary fibrosis and to identify new approaches to treat, and ultimately cure, this disease.”