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Terri A. Laguna, MD, MSci
Assembly Chair

Welcome to the Assembly on Pediatrics of the American Thoracic Society! We are an active Assembly with a diverse membership focused on improving respiratory health for all children. We are especially interested on improving health disparities through focused work on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. We invite you to get involved in the many exciting opportunities available as shown by the number of committees, interest groups, and working groups listed below.

Our mission is to promote the respiratory health of infants, children, and adolescents and to improve the care of children with respiratory disease through research, education, patient care, and advocacy. As pediatricians, we aim to advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves, particularly those from disadvantaged and minoritized backgrounds. The Assembly includes specialists in pediatric pulmonology, neonatology, sleep medicine, pediatric critical care, allergy-immunology, and nursing, united in a common goal of understanding, improving, and advocating for the respiratory health of all children. Nearly 75% of ATS members with Pediatrics as their primary Assembly choose to be members of other Assemblies, further reflecting our diverse interests. The Assembly also has an active international community, and we strive to expand our membership beyond North America. If interested, please visit the Virtual International Pediatric Pulmonary Network.

The Assembly on Pediatrics is committed to the education, mentorship and career development of students, residents, fellows, and junior faculty interested in a career focused on childhood respiratory health. Programs such as the Student Scholars Program and the Pediatric Resident Development Scholarship Program allow trainees to attend the International Conference to network and meet the pediatric community. The Resident Boot Camp and Fellows Track Symposium provide key didactic and career development sessions for incoming fellows and fellows in training, respectively. The ATS New Faculty Boot Camp program targets members in training who are within a year of transitioning to their first academic faculty position. Scholarships to participate in the International Conference are also available to underrepresented minorities and international mentees. The Assembly on Pediatrics also offers numerous Early Career Faculty Opportunities including  mentorship and apprenticeship programs to encourage junior faculty to seek greater involvement in ATS.  The Pediatric Pulmonology Division Directors Association and Pediatric Program Training Directors Association synthesize community leadership around workforce issues related to the pipeline, training, and future of Pediatric Pulmonology, and we continue to address issues related to diversity and inclusion. Details on all these opportunities and many more can be found on the ATS website. 

The Assembly on Pediatrics highlights scientific advances and educational updates throughout the year through multiple venues. The Web Committee delivers content including webinars, journal clubs, podcasts, and Quick Hits. The Program Committee organizes pediatric-focused content for the International Conference and is responsible for selecting scientific symposia and scientific abstracts in addition to programming poster discussion sessions, and thematic poster sessions. Some of the most popular sessions at the International Conference include “Pediatric Clinical Chest Rounds,” a discussion of 4 interesting case reports by trainees and faculty, and the “Best of Pediatrics” mini symposia of the highest ranked abstracts across multiple disciplines within pediatrics. The Planning Committee promotes the development of clinical practice guidelines, technical statements, and workshop reports specific to pediatric respiratory health. Additionally, you can follow us on Twitter through the @ATSPeds handle.

The Executive Committee for the Scientific Assembly on Pediatrics is:

Assembly Chair: Terri A. Laguna, MD, MSCS, ATSF
Past Assembly Chair/ Nominating Committee Chair: Sharon Dell, BEng, MD, FRCPC, ATSF
Program Committee Chair: Erick Forno, MD, MPH, ATSF
Program Committee Chair Elect: Deepa Rastogi, MD, MBBS, MS, ATSF
Planning Committee Chair: Sharon A. Mcgrath-Morrow, MD
Co-Web Directors: Maria Teng Santiago, MD
Early Career Professionals Working Group Chairs: Kristie R. Ross, MD, MS & Seyni Gueye-Ndiaye, MD
PEDS International Relations Working Group Co-Chairs: Laura Gochicoa, MD & Ozge Yilmaz, MD
ATS Interest Group on Neonatal and the Developing Lung Chair Krithika Lingappan, MD, PhD, MS,  &  Peter Vitiello, PhD, Co-Chair
Interest Group on Pulmonary Complications of Childhood Cancer Chair: Samuel B. Goldfarb, MD
Interest Group on Children’s Interstitial and Diffuse Lung Disease Research Network (chILD) Chair: Alicia Casey, MD
ATS / SIMRI Interest Group Chair: Enrico Lombardi, MD
Division Director’s Chair: Cori Daines, MD
Pediatric Pulmonology Training Director’s Association President: Aliva De, MD
Science and Innovation (SIC) PEDS Representative: Lael Yonker, MD
PEDS Advocacy Advisory Group,Chair: Christy Sadreameli, MD, MHS
SRN Assembly on PEDS Sleep Issues PEDS Liaison: Laura M. Sterni, MD
Chair Appointees: Robyn Cohen, MD, MPH, Benjamin Kopp, MD, MPH, Devika Rao, MD and Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir, MD, MS
Apprentice: Nicole Stephenson, MD

Your input and feedback are always welcome. You can contact the assembly by email at peds@thoracic.org.