Activity Overview
The Interstitial Lung Disease Insights: Meet the Professor Virtual Series I is a live, case-based program designed to enhance clinicians’ ability to recognize and manage interstitial lung disease associated with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases. Through expert-led presentations, the series highlights evidence-based approaches to early detection, risk-based screening, diagnostic evaluation, and longitudinal care, while promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and informed clinical decision-making to improve patient outcomes.
This session builds on these foundations by focusing on the early detection, diagnosis, and management of interstitial lung disease using a case-based approach. Faculty will demonstrate how to integrate clinical presentation, laboratory and autoantibody testing, imaging, and pulmonary function data to improve diagnostic accuracy, guide risk-based screening, and apply practical strategies for monitoring, prognosis, and multidisciplinary care.
Speakers
Amanda S. Alexander, MD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Clinical Immunology & Rheumatology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Birmingham VA Medical Center. She is the Rheumatology Fellowship Program Director and has a clinical interest in Scleroderma and Connective Tissue Disease-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease (CTD-ILD). Dr. Alexander earned her MD from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine in 2013. She then completed residency, and chief residency, at the University of Kansas Medical Center in 2017, followed by a fellowship in rheumatology at UAB in 2019. She joined the faculty at UAB in 2019.
Elana Bernstein, MD, is a rheumatologist whose clinical and research interests focus on systemic sclerosis (scleroderma), including the detection and treatment of interstitial lung disease and pulmonary hypertension in patients with autoimmune diseases. She is the Florence Irving Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, an Associate Attending at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and the founder and Director of the Columbia University/New York-Presbyterian Scleroderma Center. Her research is dedicated to advancing the understanding and treatment of lung disease in scleroderma and improving outcomes for patients with autoimmune diseases.
Sydney Montesi, MD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a physician investigator in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. Her clinical focus is caring for patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD), including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease-associated ILD. Her research focuses on the use of molecular imaging to assess disease activity and treatment effect in patients with pulmonary fibrosis and the conduct of clinical trials in IPF. She co-chaired the American Thoracic Society guidelines for the treatment of systemic sclerosis-associated ILD.
Elizabeth Volkmann, MD, MS, is an Associate Professor in the Division of Rheumatology at University of California, Los Angeles, where she serves as the Director of the UCLA Scleroderma Program and the founder and Co-Director of the UCLA Connective Tissue Disease-Related Interstitial Lung Disease (CTD-ILD) Program. Her research focuses on the discovery of novel biomarkers that predict response to ILD-targeted therapies. She also has an enduring interest in exploring how the gut microbiome contributes to the pathogenesis of ILD and systemic sclerosis. Dr. Volkmann practices holistic medicine, an approach that addresses the whole person, including psychological, spiritual, ethical, familial and societal, as well as the biological dimensions of disease. Central to her healing philosophy is the recognition of the uniqueness of each patient and the fostering of equality in the doctor-patient partnership. She is also the proud founder of Women in Scleroderma (WINS), a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the careers of women scientists and clinicians working in this field.
Interstitial Lung Disease Insights: Meet the Professor Webinar Series
This activity is part of a series. See all activities in the series below.
Interstitial Lung Disease Insights: Meet the Professor Virtual Series I
Interstitial Lung Disease Insights: Meet the Professor Virtual Series II
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:
Recognize the burden of SARD ILD in autoimmune diseases
Implement current guidelines to optimize early detection and establish best practices
Apply risk based screening approaches
Implement practical monitoring protocols, including those for interprofessional teams
Promote interdisciplinary collaboration, pathways for access to care, and patient education around early detection of SARD ILD
Establish effective workflows to reduce barriers for early detection and treatment of SARD ILD
Price
Registration is complimentary.
CE & MOC Information
Credit must be claimed by September 21, 2029, at 11:59 PM ET.
By completing this activity, you provide the ACR permission to share completion data with the ACCME and the certifying board.
After submitting a reflective statement with key takeaways from the activity, MOC points will be applied for ABIM diplomates to the ABIM diplomate number and date of birth provided when you claimed credit. Points are sent nightly to ACCME and then transferred to the ABIM Physician Portal. Please allow at least 48 hours for points to display in the portal.
The following credit types must be self-reported to the appropriate board: CME, AAPA, AANC, AWSB ACE, and APA. The certificate is a record of your activity completion.
All participating healthcare professionals should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in this activity.
Available Credit
CME: 1.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™
ABIM MOC: 1.50 Medical Knowledge Points
AAPA: 1.50 AAPA Category 1 CME ™ Credits
ANCC: 1.50 Contact Hours
Designation Statements
Joint Accreditation
In support of improving patient care, the American College of Rheumatology is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Provider Number: 0003797
See the ACR's CE Mission Statement. For more information, download the AMA PRA Booklet.
AMA
The American College of Rheumatology designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM)
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 1.50 MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.
AAPA
Through joint accreditation, the American College of Rheumatology has been authorized by the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) to award AAPA Category 1 CME ™ credit for activities planned in accordance with AAPA CME Criteria. This activity is designated for 1.50 AAPA Category 1 CME™ credits. PAs should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
ANCC
The American College of Rheumatology designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.50 ANCC contact hours.
Financial Relationship Disclosures
ACR Disclosure Statement
It is the policy of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) to ensure that Continuing Medical Education (CME) activities are independent and free of commercial bias. To ensure educational content is objective, balanced, and guarantee content presented is in the best interest of its learners and the public, the ACR requires that everyone in a position to control educational content disclose all financial relationships with ineligible companies within the prior 24 months. An ineligible company is one whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. Examples can be found at accme.org.
In accordance with the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education, ACR has implemented mechanisms prior to the planning and implementation of this CME activity to identify and mitigate all relevant financial relationships for all individuals in a position to control the content of this CME activity.
Nature of Financial Relationships
All individuals that participate in an ACR-sponsored activity and are able to change content or influence the content of the activity must disclose to the planning committee and audience all financial or other relationships with ineligible companies including, but not limited to:
Advisor or review panel member
Consultant
Employee
Officer or Board Member
Grant/research support
Speaker/honoraria includes speaker’s bureau, symposia, and expert witness
Independent contractor
Executive role and/or ownership interest
Royalties and/or patent beneficiary
Intellectual property/patents
Stock options or bond holdings in a for-profit corporation or self-directed pension plan
Private investigator
Expert witness
Equity interest
Other: specify details
None: Has no relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
All participants that created and/or were able to influence the content and delivery of this activity reported the following disclosures. All of the relevant financial relationships listed have been mitigated.
Faculty
Authors/Moderator:
Amanda S. Alexander, MD - Boehringer Ingelheim (2 - ended)
Elana Bernstein, MD - AstraZeneca (5), aTyr (5), Boehringer Ingelheim (2) BMS (5), Cabeletta Bio (5), Synthekine (2,5)
Sydney Montesi, MD - AbbVie (2), Accendatech (2), Amgen (2 - ended), Boehringer Ingelheim (5), BMS (2), InSilico (2 - ended), Mediar Therapeutics (2), Pliant Therapeutics (5 - ended), PDL Group (2), Trevi Therapeutics (2 - ended), Wolters Kluwer (2)
Elizabeth Volkmann, MD, MS - AbbVie (2), AstraZeneca (5 - ended), aTyr Pharma (5), BMS (2), Boehringer Ingelheim (2), GSK (2, 5), Horizon (5), Novartis (5)
Planners:
Adena Batterman, MSW, LCSW – No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Bharati Bhardwaja, PharmD - No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Dimpi Desai, MD - No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Angelo Gaffo, MD, FACP – Atom (2 - ended), AVALO (2), PK Med (2), Protalix (2), Scilex (2), SOBI (2)
Armaghan Mahmoudian, PhD, PT, MSc – No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Anthony M. Reginato, MD, PhD, RhMSUS – No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Gopisree Perigneth, MD - No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Kai Sun, MD, MS, RhMSUS - Aurinia (2 - ended)
Priyanjali Pulipati, MBBS, RhMSUS - No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Morgan Rand, APRN, FNP-BC - No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Sharon Ross - No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Lesley Ann Saketkoo, MD, MPH - AbbVie/Abbott (5), CSL Behring (1, 5), EMD Serono (1, 5), Pfizer (1, 5), Priovant (2, 5)
Rouhin Sen, MD - No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Meredith White, PA - No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Andrea Womack - No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Planners/Reviewers:
Katherine Yates, MD - No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Acknowledgement of Commercial Support
This activity is supported by an independent medical educational grant from Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Educational Activity Policies
See ACR educational activity policies, including the online enduring activity refund policy.
Activity Overview
This recording of a one-hour webinar features panelists discussing interstitial lung disease (ILD) fundamentals, including disparities, symptom recognition and differential diagnosis, as well as the ACR ILD guidelines. Additionally, the webinar emphasizes strategies to enhance care coordination across multidisciplinary teams to enhance collaboration between primary care, rheumatology and pulmonology.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:
Identify health disparities in ILD
Summarize treatment recommendations from the ACR ILD guidelines
Discuss how multidisciplinary care teams, including rheumatology and pulmonology, can improve patient care
Target Audience
Advanced practice nurses, fellows in training, physician assistants, primary care providers, resident, rheumatologists, and rheumatology interprofessionals
Price
Registration is complimentary.
Credit Information
This activity is not eligible for credit.
Acknowledgement of Commercial Support
This event was made possible by financial support from Boehringer Ingelheim.
Educational Activity Policies
See ACR educational activity policies, including the online enduring activity refund policy.
Activity Overview
The Interstitial Lung Disease Insights: Meet the Professor Virtual Series is a case-based program designed to enhance clinicians’ ability to recognize and manage interstitial lung disease associated with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases. Through expert-led presentations, the series highlights evidence-based approaches to early detection, risk-based screening, diagnostic evaluation, and longitudinal care, while promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and informed clinical decision-making to improve patient outcomes.
This session builds on these foundations by focusing on the early detection, diagnosis, and management of interstitial lung disease using a case-based approach. Faculty will demonstrate how to integrate clinical presentation, laboratory and autoantibody testing, imaging, and pulmonary function data to improve diagnostic accuracy, guide risk-based screening, and apply practical strategies for monitoring, prognosis, and multidisciplinary care.
Interstitial Lung Disease Insights: Meet the Professor Virtual Series
This activity is part of a series. See all activities in the series below.
Interstitial Lung Disease Insights: Meet the Professor Virtual Series I On Demand
Interstitial Lung Disease Insights: Meet the Professor Virtual Series II On Demand
Speakers
Thomas S. Kaleekal, MD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and serves as the current Medical Director of UAB’s Lung Transplant Program. His scholarly interests center on advanced lung disease, lung transplantation, and the complex intersection of transplantation with systemic autoimmune and connective tissue diseases. His work has included outcomes research in scleroderma-related lung disease and contributions to studies of alloimmune and autoimmune mechanisms, including B-cell and antibody responses in lung transplant recipients. Other research focuses on improving short- and long-term transplant outcomes, reducing transplant-associated morbidity, and improving post-transplant patient survival and quality of life. Dr. Kaleekal is actively involved in national transplant policy creation and implementation through the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Lung Transplant Committee and currently serves as the OPTN Region 3 lung transplant representative on the committee.
Justin Oldham, MD, PhD, is an associate professor at the University of Michigan where he directs the ILD program. He completed his undergraduate and medical education at the University of Colorado and PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Michigan. He completed internal medicine residency at the University of California at Davis and pulmonary and critical care fellowship at the University of Chicago. He is an NIH funded physician scientist who conducts proteomics research aimed at developing protein-based biomarkers to perform risk stratification and assist clinical decision making for patients with pulmonary fibrosis.
Jeffrey Sparks, MD, is a rheumatologist and population scientist at Mass General Brigham / Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School with an overall focus on using patient-oriented and epidemiologic research studies to evaluate the etiology, outcomes, and public health burden of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In particular, he performs studies to evaluate genetic, environmental, serologic, and familial risk factors for RA, clinical trials for RA prevention, and RA outcomes research focusing on the respiratory and metabolic burden of RA. He has received research awards from the National Institutes of Health and Rheumatology Research Foundation.
Erin Wilfong, MD, PhD, is a dual-trained rheumatologist and pulmonary-critical care physician with expertise at the intersection of autoimmune disease and lung health. Her translational research focuses on myositis-associated interstitial lung disease, with the goal of advancing understanding and improving outcomes for patients with complex rheumatic conditions. Dr. Wilfong also maintains a strong clinical interest in the diagnosis and management of life-threatening rheumatic diseases, bringing a multidisciplinary perspective to the care of patients with severe and systemic autoimmune disorders.
Target Audience
Rheumatologists, rheumatology interprofessionals, educators, health educators, primary care providers who care for patients with rheumatic disease, fellows-in-training, physician associates, advanced practice nurses, nurses, pulmonologists, program directors, and residents.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:
Describe risk based screening and monitoring strategies
Apply stepwise treatment algorithms for SARD ILD
Recognize contraindicated therapies and avoid harm
Integrate antifibrotics and immunosuppressants with an evidence based approach
Enhance interprofessional and interdisciplinary care and patient centered decision making
Price
Registration is complimentary.
CE & MOC Information
Credit must be claimed by September 21, 2029, at 11:59 PM ET.
By completing this activity, you provide the ACR permission to share completion data with the ACCME and the certifying board.
After submitting a reflective statement with key takeaways from the activity, MOC points will be applied for ABIM diplomates to the ABIM diplomate number and date of birth provided when you claimed credit. Points are sent nightly to ACCME and then transferred to the ABIM Physician Portal. Please allow at least 48 hours for points to display in the portal.
The following credit types must be self-reported to the appropriate board: CME, AAPA, AANC, AWSB ACE, and APA. The certificate is a record of your activity completion.
All participating healthcare professionals should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in this activity.
Available Credit
CME: 1.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™
ABIM MOC: 1.50 Medical Knowledge Points
AAPA: 1.50 AAPA Category 1 CME ™ Credits
ANCC: 1.50 Contact Hours
Designation Statements
Joint Accreditation
In support of improving patient care, the American College of Rheumatology is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Provider Number: 0003797
See the ACR's CE Mission Statement. For more information, download the AMA PRA Booklet.
AMA
The American College of Rheumatology designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM)
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 1.50 MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.
AAPA
Through joint accreditation, the American College of Rheumatology has been authorized by the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) to award AAPA Category 1 CME ™ credit for activities planned in accordance with AAPA CME Criteria. This activity is designated for 1.50 AAPA Category 1 CME™ credits. PAs should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
ANCC
The American College of Rheumatology designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.50 ANCC contact hours.
Financial Relationship Disclosures
ACR Disclosure Statement
It is the policy of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) to ensure that Continuing Medical Education (CME) activities are independent and free of commercial bias. To ensure educational content is objective, balanced, and guarantee content presented is in the best interest of its learners and the public, the ACR requires that everyone in a position to control educational content disclose all financial relationships with ineligible companies within the prior 24 months. An ineligible company is one whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. Examples can be found at accme.org.
In accordance with the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education, ACR has implemented mechanisms prior to the planning and implementation of this CME activity to identify and mitigate all relevant financial relationships for all individuals in a position to control the content of this CME activity.
Nature of Financial Relationships
All individuals that participate in an ACR-sponsored activity and are able to change content or influence the content of the activity must disclose to the planning committee and audience all financial or other relationships with ineligible companies including, but not limited to:
Advisor or review panel member
Consultant
Employee
Officer or Board Member
Grant/research support
Speaker/honoraria includes speaker’s bureau, symposia, and expert witness
Independent contractor
Executive role and/or ownership interest
Royalties and/or patent beneficiary
Intellectual property/patents
Stock options or bond holdings in a for-profit corporation or self-directed pension plan
Private investigator
Expert witness
Equity interest
Other: specify details
None: Has no relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
All participants that created and/or were able to influence the content and delivery of this activity reported the following disclosures. All of the relevant financial relationships listed have been mitigated. Interstitial Lung Disease Insights: Meet the Professor Virtual Series II On Demand Faculty Disclosure Mitigation
Faculty
Authors/Moderator:
Thomas Kaleekal, MD - No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Justin Oldham, MD, PhD - Avalyn (2), Boehringer Ingelheim (2), Insmed (2), Medier (2), United Therapeutics (2 - ended)
Jeffrey Sparks, MD - 10x Genomics (5), AbbVie (2), AstraZeneca (2), Boehringer Ingelheim (2, 5), BMS (2, 5), First Tracks (2), GSK (2), Johnson & Johnson (2, 5), Sonoma Biotherapeutics (5), Sun (2)
Erin Wilfong, MD, PhD -
Planners:
Thomas Appleton, MD, PhD, FRCPC - AbbVie, Accord Health, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Auxita, Biogen, BioJamp, Boehringer Ingelheim, BMS, Celgene, Celltrion, Fresenius Kabi, Giliead, Janssen, Hoffman La Roche, Innomar, Lilly, Medexus, Merck, Novaris, Organon, Pfizer, Sondoz, Sanofi-Genzyme, Sun Pharma, UCB (all 2)
Adena Batterman, MSW, LCSW – No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Bharati Bhardwaja, PharmD - No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Dimpi Desai, MD - No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Armaghan Mahmoudian, PhD, PT, MSc – No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Gopisree Perigneth, MD - No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Priyanjali Pulipati, MBBS, RhMSUS - No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Morgan Rand, APRN, FNP-BC - No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Anthony M. Reginato, MD, PhD, RhMSUS – No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Sharon Ross - No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Lesley Ann Saketkoo, MD, MPH - AbbVie/Abbott (5), CSL Behring (1, 5), EMD Serono (1, 5), Pfizer (1, 5), Priovant (2, 5)
Rouhin Sen, MD - No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Kai Sun, MD, MS, RhMSUS - Aurinia (2 - ended)
Meredith White, PA - No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Andrea Womack - No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Katherine Yates, MD - No relevant financial relationships to disclose
Planners/Reviewers:
Angelo Gaffo, MD, FACP – Atom (2 - ended), AVALO (2), PK Med (2), Protalix (2), Scilex (2), SOBI (2)
Acknowledgement of Commercial Support
This activity is supported by an independent medical educational grant from Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Educational Activity Policies
See ACR educational activity policies, including the online enduring activity refund policy.