IAS: Virtual Education to Meet the Needs of Physicians Treating Autoimmune Diseases

While the COVID-19 pandemic has effectively shut down in-person meetings for the foreseeable future, virtual conferences are starting to thrive. An all-online format ensures physicians and allied health care providers can still network and learn more about improving the care of their patients. This year, the Interdisciplinary Autoimmune Summit (IAS) will take place online through July 10 through July 12.

“During this unprecedented time in medicine, the virtual IAS meeting will allow us an important opportunity to collaborate and integrate our approach to autoimmune diseases,” said Mital Patel-Cohen, MD, associate dermatologist with Summit Medical Group. Dr Patel is co-chair of the IAS, along with Joseph Merola, MD, MMSc, vice chair of clinical trials and innovation and associate professor of dermatology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Adam Cheifetz, MD, director of the Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Senior advisors of the meeting include Leonard Calabrese, DO, professor of medicine at Cleveland Clinic; Stephen B. Hanauer, MD, medical director of the Digestive Health Center at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; and Joel Gelfand, MD, MSCE, professor of dermatology and epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

Each year at the IAS meeting, attendees from various fields such as rheumatology, dermatology, and gastroenterology come together to collaborate on innovative treatment plans for patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs), including psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn disease, and ulcerative colitis. This annual meeting is a one-of-a-kind experience that focuses on practice-changing education led by experts in the field: Emma Guttman, MD, the Sol and Clara Kest Professor of Dermatology and Immunology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; David P. Hudesman, MD, co-director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at NYU Langone Health; Sebastian H. Unizony, MD, co-director of the Vasculitis and Glomerulonephritis Center at Harvard Medical School; and Michelle Petri, MD, professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The newly virtual format of IAS offers all providers an opportunity to engage with experts in various fields and autoimmune diseases from the comfort of their own home as well as learn about updates in treatment and share best practices through roundtable discussions, Q&As, and a virtual exhibit hall.

“In this time of unprecedented crisis, it is imperative that we come together as a group and continue to work collaboratively across disciplines for our patients with immune-mediated inflammatory disorders.  More than ever, I look forward to learning from and interacting with my colleagues in rheumatology and dermatology. Though the meeting won’t be in-person, it will still be vital,” said Dr Cheifetz.

ALN subscribers can receive an additional $50 off registration with discount code: NEWS.

Listen to Senior Advisor Dr Gelfand talk about his research on cardiovascular disease, psoriasis, and the COVID-19 pandemic: 

Pearls in Psoriasis: Dr Green Talks to Dr Gelfand about CVD in Psoriasis
Pearls in Psoriasis Part 2: Dr Green and Dr Gelfand Discuss COVID-19