ATS: American Thoracic Society
The American Thoracic Society traces its roots to 1905, when a group of physicians and scientists formalized the collegial partnerships they had developed around the treatment of tuberculosis—a seemingly incurable disease that had become an epidemic.
These founders knew that they had to share their knowledge with other medical professionals if they were to provide any hope to their patients. This was the beginning of the American Thoracic Society and its history of fighting lung disease.
Although it is still fighting tuberculosis, the Society has taken on new challenges in medicine and grown increasingly international in its scope of activities and membership. Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, cystic fibrosis, influenza, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and sleep apnea are among the many breathing disorders for which the Society seeks to improve care.
In carrying out its mission, the Society has developed several programs and initiatives that are recognized internationally for their quality and impact:
- The ATS advocates worldwide and in Washington, D.C., for cleaner air, smoking cessation and tuberculosis control programs, among other public health issues. Recently, the Society championed TB legislation in the United States that addresses the disease internationally, as well as domestically. And the ATS continues to work with the World Health Organization to assist developing countries implement the first-ever International Standards for Tuberculosis Care.
- The ATS Research Program supports young investigators at a crucial point in their careers. Recipients of these awards have gone on to publish in the leading international journals, win major government and foundation research grants and establish their own laboratories, where they now mentor a new generation of scientists and physicians.
- The ATS Public Advisory Roundtable in the Society’s patient arm. Patients and their family members are an important part of the Society. They bolster advocacy efforts, participate in the writing of clinical guidelines and patient education materials and serve on ATS committees.
- For more than 100 years, the ATS International Conference has brought together the leading scientists and clinicians to share the latest information about lung disease. Each year, more than 5,000 research abstracts are presented at the conference, along with the results of scores of clinical trials and epidemiological studies.
- Through three peer-reviewed journals—the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the American Journal of Respiratory and Cell and Molecular Biology and the Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society—the ATS disseminates information about the latest basic, translational and clinical studies in pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine.
The American Thoracic Society continues to grow because there is hope. The Society’s 15,000 members—physicians, nurses, allied health professionals and scientists who work in the United States and around the world—believe that scientific discoveries can reduce the burden of lung disease for future generations. And like those who founded the Society more than a century ago, they join the ATS because the impact of their individual contributions can be magnified and projected in ways that improve patent care far beyond their own practice or their laboratories.
The ATS Patient Information Series serves as a resource for healthcare providers, patients and others with a need for accurate, user-friendly information on key topics related to lung disease.
To date, the ATS has published more than 100 on topics ranging from pediatric asthma screening to the diagnosis and treatment of pneumonia and control of tuberculosis.
Through its Government Relations office in Washington D.C., the ATS fights for improved respiratory health for patients in the U.S. and around the globe.
ATS Public Advisory Roundtable (PAR)
PAR is the arm of the ATS that incorporates patient and family perspectives into the Society’s activities.
The ATS works to engage its members around the globe, while also forming productive partnerships with other international respiratory organizations, including those co-sponsoring “Year of the Lung.”
The ATS sponsors hundreds of CME activities each year, including its annual International Conference, SOTA and MECOR courses.
ATS 2010 International Conference
The premier scientific conference in pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine will be held in New Orleans, My 14 to 19.
The diverse interests of members are represented by the Society’s 13 specialty-specific assemblies and three sections.
The ATS Research Program supports young investigators at a crucial point in their careers.
Content from the Society’s three scientific journals is available online.
State and regional TSCs provide a national forum in which to address issues of education, practice, research and public policy.
