In May 2026, the FSR team came together in Orlando, Florida for the 2026 American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference. ATS is a major professional gathering that brings health care professionals, industry representatives, nonprofit organizations, and researchers from around the world who specialize in pulmonary and critical care medicine.
FSR had the pleasure of connecting with so many of its partners and community members. Let’s take a dive into the highlights of this year’s conference.
FSR hosted its booth in the exhibit hall, handing out resources to clinicians and researchers attending the conference. The team struck up great conversations and saw high engagement each day. It was a key opportunity to highlight FSR and its programs, network with new organizations, and spread awareness about sarcoidosis.
Timothy Legenzoff, FSR Senior Research Manager
L-R: Tricha Shivas (FSR Chief of Staff & Strategy), Mary McGowan (FSR President & CEO), Dr. Matt Craig (FSR/ATS) and Dr. Josh Fessel (Consultant).
FSR met with nearly 50 different partners, including FSR Scientific Advisory Board members, FSR Global Sarcoidosis Clinic Alliance members, FSR Clinical Studies Network researchers, FSR grantees, FSR Corporate Advisory Committee members, industry partners, and more. This was an incredible opportunity to connect, discuss collaboration opportunities, and share thoughts on driving the next groundbreaking developments in sarcoidosis.
Top left collage (clockwise, left to right): Mary McGowan, Garen Sass (Keenova), Susan Dunn (Keenova), Brandon Bass (Keenova), Kat Livingstone (Keenova); Tricha Shivas, Henry Wilson (Insmed), Kristine Roedel-Conoscenti (Insmed), Mary McGowan; Sarah Vidal (Boehringer Ingelheim), Dharmesh Patel (Boehringer Ingelheim), Alyson Hardy (Boehringer Ingelheim), Tricha Shivas; Dwight Gates (ANI Pharmaceuticals), Mary McGowan, Kenneth Miller (ANI Pharmaceuticals), Tricha Shivas, Michael Arora (ANI Pharmaceuticals).
Remaining collage (clockwise, left to right): Elise Hoover, Timothy Legenzoff, Dr. Nicholas Arger (UCSF, FSR SAB Member); Dr. Logan Harper (Cleveland Clinic, FSR SARC-Patient Registry Co-Chair), Ethan Fechter-Leggett, Elise Hoover; Mary McGowan, Dr. Elliott Crouser (FSR SAB Chair); Mary McGowan; Mary McGowan, Dr. Mehdi Mirsaeidi, Tricha Shivas; Dr. Sellares Jacobo, Tricha Shivas, Dr. Mridu Gulati, Dr. Francesco Bonella, Ethan Fechter-Leggett, Elise Hoover.
Mary McGowan, FSR President & CEO, spoke on “Navigating Health Policy in a Changing Landscape,” delivering powerful remarks on how impactful advocacy efforts can transform the landscape of clinical trials. “We all know how effective patient voices can be,” Mary shared. “This initiative reflects over 400 patient voices and the power of 40 collaborating organizations that brought a solution to clinical trial participation barriers to Capitol Hill. This resulted in pivotal job protection for those who enroll in clinical trials.”
Mary McGowan, FSR President & CEO
Learn more about these momentous changes, including FMLA for Clinical Trials Participation and the FSR Coalition to Transform Clinical Trial Engagement.
Sherron Fantauzzi, FSR Global Sarcoidosis Clinic Alliance Volunteer Leader and FSR Patient Advocate, participated in the panel discussion “Integrating Pragmatic Clinical Trials into Interventional Pulmonary Outcomes.” Sherron drew upon her experience as a patient advocate and represented the sarcoidosis community’s voice for an impactful discussion with the clinicians, researchers, and key stakeholders in attendance.
(Left to right): Panel featuring Dr. Lora Reineck, Dr. Samira Shojaee, Sherron Fantauzzi, Dr. Anne Valerie Gonzalez, Dr. Fabien Maldonado, Dr. Jeffrey Thiboutot.
Sherron Fantauzzi, FSR Global Sarcoidosis Clinic Alliance Volunteer Leader and FSR Patient Advocate.
FSR presented three posters at ATS, including around shared decision-making tools in sarcoidosis, multiorgan involvement and disease burden learnings from the FSR SARC-Patient Registry, and Dr. Logan Harper, Cleveland Clinic and FSR SARC-Patient Registry Co-Chair, also presented his analysis of FSR-SARC-Patient Registry data, “Beyond Access: How Self-Efficacy and Care Experience Medication Adherence in Sarcoidosis”. The number of posters on sarcoidosis topics continue to grow each year, even drawing crowds to learn from our leading community experts. to grow each year, even drawing crowds to learn from our leading community experts.
Timothy Legenzoff, FSR Senior Research Manager
Ethan Fechter-Leggett, FSR Director of Data Analysis and Strategy
Dr. Logan Harper, Cleveland Clinic and FSR SARC-Patient Registry Co-Chair
The FSR team has returned from ATS inspired and energized from the conference to continue its efforts improving care, bolstering research, and pushing closer to a cure for sarcoidosis.