About the Program

The 68th Annual Meeting, 2026

In-person or virtual live streaming format is available.
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The pulmonary vascular niche is composed of endothelial cells, mural wall cells, immune cells, and hematopoietic stem cells. It forms a microenvironment for regulating the behavior of adjacent cells, and mainly exists in the pulmonary microcirculation, including capillaries. When the lung vasculature or parenchyma are injured, the vascular niche regulates inflammation and repair. Specifically, it affects the repair of lung injury and damage in a variety of ways, such as via its angiocrine and immunoregulatory functions and transformation of resident and recruited cells. Pulmonary vascular disease, characterized by dysfunction of the vascular niche with altered interactions of its cells with resident and recruited immune and hematologic cells, is a common and significant complication of highly prevalent conditions such as pulmonary arterial hypertension, chronic lung disease, chronic heart disease, chronic pulmonary emboli, acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, exposure-related lung disease, and developmental lung disease. If chronic or severe, pulmonary vascular disease can result in pulmonary vascular remodeling and development of pulmonary hypertension and right heart failure. Understanding advances in pulmonary vascular dysfunction and its clinical correlates and phenotypes in these conditions can provide cross-informative insights that significantly propel the field forward and lead to novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

With an emphasis on the integration of basic, translational and clinical approaches, the 68th annual Aspen Lung Conference (June 9th – 12th, 2026) will focus on answering a central question: Are current advancements in understanding the mechanisms of lung vascular cell dysfunction and lung vascular remodeling sufficient to develop effective strategies for the treatment of pulmonary vascular disease in conditions like pulmonary hypertension, chronic lung disease, left heart disease, sepsis, acute lung injury, and developmental lung disease.

To explore this central question, we structured the program into a series of six thematic sessions, each beginning with an opening keynote address:

(1) Novel insights into PH phenotypes and vascular remodeling in the pulmonary circulation;

(2) The vascular niche in the pulmonary circulation: Modifying resident cell function to treat pulmonary vascular disease;

(3) The vascular niche in the pulmonary circulation: Modifying circulating and recruited cell function to treat pulmonary vascular disease;

(4) Understanding cellular interactions in the pulmonary circulation in chronic lung disease: Towards a cure for Group 3 pulmonary hypertension;

(5) Mechanisms of cardiac adaptation and maladaptation and their effects on heart-lung interactions in pulmonary vascular disease;

(6) Current and emerging diagnostic and treatment strategies for pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary vascular disease.

By addressing these topics, we seek to accomplish the following: 1) Provide a forum for leading basic, translational, and clinical researchers to exchange ideas regarding the current state of the field;2) Stimulate interactions between scientific fields to identify emerging and shared interests leading to more efficient and productive research; 3) Enhance the likelihood of success in translation of preclinical scientific advances into direct patient benefit; and 4) Challenge and stimulate the scientific interests of trainees and attract a new generation of early career investigators into the fields of pulmonary vascular disease and right heart failure.

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, cardiovascular medicine, physiology, 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. Serpil Erzurum, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH.