About the Program

The 67th Annual Meeting, 2025

In-person or virtual live streaming format is available.
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The prevalence of emphysema is increasing due to the aging population, advances in diagnostic tools, and increased exposure to environmental factors that impact pathogenesis.  Understanding the effect of these factors on the clinical manifestation of different emphysematous pathologies and pursing novel advances in lung regeneration after parenchymal destruction will have a significant impact on lung health. By highlighting emerging concepts of shared relevance to the fields of lung biology and emphysema and by addressing strategies to improve translation of scientific advances to reduce the burden of lung destruction characteristic of COPD and other rare lung diseases, the 2025 Thomas L. Petty Aspen Lung Conference will promote scientific advances in emphysema biology, injury resolution, and therapeutic intervention, ultimately improving lung health.

With an emphasis on the integration of basic, translational and clinical approaches, the 67th Annual Aspen Lung Conference will focus on a central question: Are current advancements in understanding the mechanisms of lung parenchymal destruction sufficient to develop effective strategies for the early identification and treatment of emphysema and rare lung diseases with a shared phenotype?

To address this central question, the thematic sessions will focus on:

1. Understanding the common mechanistic and phenotypic threads of lung parenchymal destruction in emphysema of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and rare lung diseases such as Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) and Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM);
2. Exploring the advances in cellular and structural biology associated with emphysema, with emphasis on the epithelial, immune, vascular, and matrix compartments of the lung; 
3. Considering novel approaches for the diagnosis, phenotyping, and endotyping of early emphysema and disease progression by leveraging multiomic data from large patient cohorts and image-based analyses; and 
4. Discussing the transformational interventions for treatment of early and established parenchymal destruction including mechanistically driven injury repair strategies and gene-based therapies.

The conference will provide an international forum that brings together leading basic, translational, and clinical researchers to exchange ideas regarding the current state of the field and welcomes trainees across the fields of pulmonary medicine, genetics, cell biology and immunology with the goal of identifying shared interests that will lead to more productive research and ultimately improve lung health.

Finally, the varied scientific themes and therapeutic strategies that emerge during the conference will be reconciled in the Conference Summary presented by Dr. Farrah Kheradmand, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.