disease monitoring

Activity OverviewDate/Time: September 9, 2026, 7:00 - 8:30 PM ETThe Interstitial Lung Disease Insights: Meet the Professor Virtual Series 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.Registration is complimentary.SpeakersAmanda 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 SeriesThis activity is part of a series. See all activities in the series below.Interstitial Lung Disease Insights: Meet the Professor Virtual Series IInterstitial Lung Disease Insights: Meet the Professor Virtual Series IITarget AudienceRheumatologists, 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 ObjectivesUpon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:Recognize the burden of SARD ILD in autoimmune diseasesImplement current guidelines to optimize early detection and establish best practicesApply risk based screening approachesImplement practical monitoring protocols, including those for interprofessional teamsPromote interdisciplinary collaboration, pathways for access to care, and patient education around early detection of SARD ILDEstablish effective workflows to reduce barriers for early detection and treatment of SARD ILDCE & MOC InformationCredit must be claimed by November 8, 2026, 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 ABP diplomates to the diplomate number and date of birth provided when you claimed credit. Points are sent nightly to ACCME and then transferred to the 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 CreditCME: 1.50 AMA PRA Category 1 CME Credits™ABIM MOC: 1.50 Medical Knowledge PointsDesignation StatementsJoint AccreditationIn support of improving patient care, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 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.See the ACR’s CE Mission Statement. For more information, download the AMA PRA Booklet.AMAThe 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.AAPAThe ACR 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. Approval is valid until November 8, 2026. PAs should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation.ANCCThe ACR designates this activity for a maximum of 1.50 ANCC contact hours.Financial Relationship DisclosuresACR Disclosure StatementIt 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 RelationshipsAll 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 memberConsultantEmployeeOfficer or Board MemberGrant/research supportSpeaker/honoraria includes speaker’s bureau, symposia, and expert witnessIndependent contractorExecutive role and/or ownership interestRoyalties and/or patent beneficiaryIntellectual property/patentsStock options or bond holdings in a for-profit corporation or self-directed pension planPrivate investigatorExpert witnessEquity interestOther: specify detailsNone: 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 I Webinar Financial Relationship DisclosuresAcknowledgement of Commercial SupportThis activity is supported by an independent medical educational grant from Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Educational Activity PoliciesSee ACR educational activity policies, including the online enduring activity refund policy.