2021 Virtual ACR/VF Treatment Conference
Saturday, December 4, 2021 Start: 10:00 a.m. Eastern
ADVANCED PATIENTS CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Saturday, November 14, 2020

Conference Hall Platform Open Exhibit Hall, Networking Lounge, Video

Welcome and Introductions

Temple University, Vice President for Preclinical Development, Excision BioTherapeutics
Jenn Gordon

PhD, Temple University, Vice President for Preclinical Development, Excision BioTherapeutics
Dr. Jennifer Gordon was diagnosed with EGPA in 2014. She holds a Ph.D. in Pathology and spent the last 30 years working as a biomedical researcher studying neurological disorders and infectious diseases. She recently retired from academia and is now consulting at Excision BioTherapeutics, a biotech start-up company developing CRISPR-based gene editing for the treatment of HIV and other viral diseases. Jenn is active in the vasculitis community. She is a patient partner in the Vasculitis Patient Powered Research Network (VPPRN) and a member of the VPPRN-VCRC EGPA Registry Joint Steering Committee. You can find her blog online at www.vasculitides.com or follow her on Twitter at @vasculitides.

Special Considerations of the Lungs and Airways in Systemic Vasculitis

Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic
Ulrich Specks

MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic
Professor of Medicine, Consultant, Division of Pulmonology and Critical Care Mayo Clinic College of Medicine & Sciences, Rochester, Minnesota
Dr. Specks has had a long-standing interest in ANCA-associated vasculitis. These diseases have been the focus of his clinical activities as well as widely published research. He’s made substantial contributions to the understanding of the pathogenesis of ANCA-associated vasculitis, the refinement of ANCA test methodologies, and our understanding of optimal clinical applications of ANCA testing. Dr. Specks is an expert for respiratory manifestations of vasculitis and has had a keen interest in novel therapies for ANCA-associated vasculitis. He introduced rituximab to the treatment of ANCA-associated vasculitis and was co-principal investigator of the Rituximab for ANCA-associated Vasculitis (RAVE) trial.
https://www.mayo.edu/research/faculty/specks-ulrich-m-d/bio-00026319

Highlights of the ACR/VF Guidelines for the Management of Vasculitis

Associate Professor Director, Vasculitis Center, University of California, San Francisco
Sharon Chung

MD, MAS Associate Professor Director, Vasculitis Center, University of California, San Francisco
Associate Professor, Director, Vasculitis Center, University of California, San Francisco
Dr. Sharon Chung is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Division of Rheumatology. She directs the UCSF Vasculitis Clinic, serves as a Medical Consultant for the Vasculitis Foundation, and is a member of the Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium. Dr. Chung's research interests include identifying the genomic factors that influence disease susceptibility and clinical heterogeneity of the systemic vasculitides. She is currently the chair of the ACR committee to develop guidelines for the management of systemic vasculitis. Follow her on Twitter @sharonchung_sf
https://www.ucsfhealth.org/providers/dr-sharon-chung

Steroids 202: Managing Long-term use of high dose steroids

Associate Clinical Professor, Founder and Director, Vasculitis Program University of California, Los Angeles
Tanaz Kermani

MD, Associate Clinical Professor, Founder and Director, Vasculitis Program University of California, Los Angeles
Associate Clinical Professor, Founder and Director, Vasculitis Program University of California, Los Angeles, Santa Monica
Dr. Tanaz Kermani is a vasculitis expert and Associate Clinical Professor in the Division of Rheumatology at University of California Los Angeles. She is the Founder and Director of the multidisciplinary UCLA Vasculitis Program. Her research interests are in the epidemiology, complications and outcome assessment of large-vessel vasculitis, especially giant cell arteritis. Dr. Kermani is a clinical investigator in multiple international collaborative endeavors in the field of vasculitis. Her research has resulted in numerous publications.
https://www.uclahealth.org/tanaz-kermani

AFTERNOON BREAK/STRETCH

The Future of Steroid Use: The Horizon for Steroid Replacement, Minimization in Systemic Vasculitis

Co-Director, Vasculitis Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Jason Springer

MD, Co-Director, Vasculitis Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Co-Director, Vasculitis Center, Division of Rheumatology and Immunology Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
Dr. Jason Springer completed medical school at the University of Louisville and completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Utah where he was mentored by a vasculitis specialist, Dr Curry Koening. He completed his general rheumatology and vasculitis fellowship at Cleveland Clinic. After his fellowship he went to the University of Kansas Medical Center where he developed a vasculitis center over the past seven years. In August 2020 Dr. Springer started a position as co-director of the vasculitis center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He serves on the VF Board of Directors and chairs the VF Research Committee.
https://search.vanderbilthealth.com/locations/vanderbilt-rheumatology

Clinical Trials in Vasculitis: What's New, What's for You

Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology University of Pennsylvania Chief, Division of Rheumatology
Peter A. Merkel

MD, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology University of Pennsylvania Chief, Division of Rheumatology
Chief, Division of Rheumatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Dr. Merkel is the Chief of Rheumatology and a Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Merkel is an internationally recognized research and clinical expert in vasculitis and scleroderma, two diseases he has studied for over 25 years, and is an author on over 300 scientific publications. He is the Principal Investigator of the NIH-Sponsored Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium (VCRC), a leading international research infrastructure for vasculitis clinical investigation. Dr. Merkel’s research focuses on clinical trial design and conduct, outcome measure development, clinical epidemiology, genetic epidemiology, and biomarker discovery.
Dr. Merkel received his MD from Yale University, his MPH from Harvard University, completed his residency training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and his fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Dr. Merkel receives the majority of his research support from the National Institutes of Health, the US Food and Drug Administration, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, with additional funding from industry sources and private foundations.
https://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/peter-merkel

Final Comments and Instructions for the Zoom Happy Hours

Zoom Breakout Happy Hours
Agenda
Saturday, October 31, 2020

Welcome: Join Our Journey for Knowledge and Hope

Sara Baird Amodio
MSW, EdD, VF Board of Directors; Host, The Ride by Vasculitis Journey podcast

30 minutes for presentation and Q&A
The Vasculitis Minions

Phil Seo
MD, Director, The Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center, Associate Professor of Medicine, John Hopkins Bayview Medical Cente

Reaching Milestones while living with Vasculitis

Kathy Olevsky
Host, Road to Wellness webinars, Raleigh, North Carolina

Medical Team 101: Maximizing Your Available Resources

Sarah Goglin
MD, Assistant Professor, School of Medicine University of California San Francisco

2-3 minute patient spotlight video
25 minutes for presentation & Q&A
Understanding Your Lab Tests and Imaging Results

Kevin Byram
MD, Vanderbilt University

Afternoon Break and Stretch

30 minutes for presentation & Q&A
Chronic Illness and the Impact on a Patient's Mental Health

Velma Mockett
PhD, INDS, RCC, "Mental Health Consultant/Specialist Blink Mental Health Services Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

30 minutes for presentation & Q&A
Medications 101: The Alphabet Soup

Anisha Dua
MD, MPH, Associate Professor, Feinberg School of Medicine (Rheumatology) Assistant Program Director, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois

A Patient's Perspective

Ben Wilson
Young Adult Patient Advocate Co-Host, Vasculitis Visionaries podcasts Columbia, Missouri

Steroids 101

Tanaz Kermani
MD, Vasculitis Program Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center UCLA Health - Santa Monica Medical Center

30 minutes for presentation & Q&A
The Future of Steroid Use: The Horizon for Steroid Replacement, Minimization in Systemic Vasculitis

Jason Springer
MD, Co-Director, Vasculitis Center Vanderbilt University Medical Center Division of Rheumatology and Immunology

30 minutes for presentation & Q&A
What Does Wellness Look Like in a Pandemic?

Leonard Calabrese
DO, "Co-Director, Center for Vasculitis Care and Research R.J. Fasenmeyer Chair of Clinical Immunology Director, R.J. Fasenmeyer Center for Clinical Immunology Theodore F. Classen, DO Chair in Osteopathic Research and Education Cleveland Clinic

What's Next? Resources for Your Journey to Better Health; Get Involved in Research

Peter Grayson
MD, MSc, Head, Vasculitis Translational Research Program, NIAMS Associate Director, NIAMS Fellowship Program, Systemic Autoimmunity Branch
Final Comments and Introductions for the Zoom Happy Hours

Joyce A. Kullman
Executive Director, Vasculitis Foundation
Join us for a virtual conference as we introduce the 2021 ACR/VF Vasculitis Clinical Practice Treatment Guidelines to our community. These guidelines represent the first recommendations ever developed and endorsed by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the Vasculitis Foundation (VF) for the management of:
- Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA)
- Giant cell arteritis (GCA)
- Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and Microscopic polyangiitis (MPA)
- Polyarteritis nodosa (PAN)
- Takayasu arteritis (TAK)
These recommendations provide guidance regarding the evaluation and management of patients, including diagnostic strategies, use of pharmacologic agents, and surgical interventions.
The conference will start with a general session in the general auditorium for all attendees and then break out into individual disease sessions. After the breakout sessions, attendees will return to the main auditorium for a presentation and brainstorming session discussing the critical importance of disseminating the guidelines to their community rheumatologists, family physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
Sponsors



