treatment safety in ILD

Activity OverviewDate/Time: September 15, 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 focuses on therapeutic management of SARD-associated ILD, emphasizing stepwise treatment algorithms and optimizing therapy selection across the disease continuum. Faculty will review the role of antifibrotics and immunosuppressants within an evidence-based framework, identify contraindicated therapies to avoid harm, and discuss escalation of care, including transplantation and investigational approaches. Through case-based discussion and interactive engagement, learners will explore strategies to enhance interprofessional care and support patient-centered decision making.Registration is complimentary.SpeakersThomas 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. 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:Describe risk based screening and monitoring strategiesApply stepwise treatment algorithms for SARD ILDRecognize contraindicated therapies and avoid harmIntegrate antifibrotics and immunosuppressants with an evidence based approachEnhance interprofessional and interdisciplinary care and patient centered decision makingCE & MOC InformationCredit must be claimed by November 14, 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 PointsAAPA: 1.50 AAPA Category 1 CME™ CreditsANCC: 1.50 Contact HoursDesignation 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 II 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.