On March 10-11, 2026, more than 325 medical professionals came together in person to attend the 12th Annual Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Chronic Lung Disease Conference. The conference was held at the Hilton Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing.
Severe chronic lung disease (CLD) of infancy, also known as bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), is the most common chronic complication of premature birth. It affects approximately 50% of extremely preterm infants weighing less than 1,000 grams at birth, and rates of BPD have remained relatively unchanged over the past several decades. Infants with BPD frequently require lengthy hospital stays and extensive post-discharge medical care. A diagnosis of BPD is a strong predictor of long-term impairment in lung function, cardiovascular health, growth and neurodevelopment. Learn more about CHOP’s Newborn and Infant Chronic Lung Disease Program.
The conference featured an expanded program this year that included a one-and-a-half-day educational conference, a poster session and a three-hour post-conference colloquium. Attendees represented a wide range of disciplines, including neonatology, pulmonology, advanced practice nursing, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, bedside nursing and respiratory therapy, as well as pharmacy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, nutrition and social work. All presentations were delivered live and included audience Q-and-A sessions. Continuing medical education credits were available for physicians, nurses, pharmacists and dietitians, with continuing education credits offered for four additional disciplines.
“The tremendous success of this multidisciplinary conference was driven by the open exchange of expertise, perspectives and experiences that strengthened collaboration and inspired continued innovation,” says Kathleen A. Gibbs, MD, Medical Director of CHOP’s Newborn and Infant Chronic Lung Disease Program. “Signature highlights that continue to resonate year after year include the Family Perspective presentation, the Great Debate, the Interactive Ventilator Strategies Workshop, and the ‘Ask the Expert’ open forum, all of which foster dynamic discussion and meaningful engagement across disciplines. These highly interactive experiences are consistently well received and remain a defining and valued component of the conference experience.”
“It was a distinct honor to bring together and showcase a diverse group of distinguished national and international experts dedicated to advancing the care of infants with CLD and supporting their families this year,” says Kathy Nilan, RN, nurse coordinator of the Newborn and Infant Chronic Lung Disease Program and conference co-director.
The year’s conference featured two keynote speakers:
- Sailesh Kotecha, PhD, Cardiff School of Medicine, United Kingdom, who presented Looking Beyond Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia: Prematurity-Associated Lung Disease (PLD)
- David N. Cornfield, MD, chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Asthma, and Sleep Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and founder and co-director of the Physician-Scientist Fellowship Program at Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, who presented BPD, Then and Next.
Conference faculty included more than 60 speakers from CHOP’s CLD team, members of the BPD Collaborative and interdisciplinary specialists from leading institutions across the United States dedicated to caring for infants and children with CLD.
One of the conference’s most impactful sessions was “A Family Perspective: From NICU Nurse to NICU Mom & Everything in Between,” presented by Ashely and Adam Lambert, parents of Ford, a NICU graduate. Their presentation offered a firsthand perspective on the family’s journey through the neonatal intensive care experience and highlighted the importance of family-centered care in supporting children with CLD and their caregivers.
The conference also featured a robust poster session, “Knowledge and Cocktails: A Perfect Combination!” Co-sponsored by CHOP and the BPD Collaborative, the session showcased 38 posters highlighting innovative clinical practices, quality improvement initiatives and emerging research related to BPD and chronic lung disease care.
Attendees also had the opportunity to participate in a post-conference colloquium featuring two educational tracks. Participants could engage with research scientists exploring emerging BPD research or attend multidisciplinary clinical sessions, including demonstrations of Electrical Impedance Tomography, an emerging noninvasive thoracic imaging technology.
Interactive workshops in ventilation strategies and supporting development in infants returned this year, providing attendees with hands-on opportunities to engage with faculty through simulators, videos and audience-response technology while working through real-world clinical scenarios.
Organizers look forward to building on the conference’s success and continuing to offer innovative educational opportunities, expert faculty and engaging programming at the 2027 CHOP Chronic Lung Disease Conference.
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On March 10-11, 2026, more than 325 medical professionals came together in person to attend the 12th Annual Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Chronic Lung Disease Conference. The conference was held at the Hilton Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing.
Severe chronic lung disease (CLD) of infancy, also known as bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), is the most common chronic complication of premature birth. It affects approximately 50% of extremely preterm infants weighing less than 1,000 grams at birth, and rates of BPD have remained relatively unchanged over the past several decades. Infants with BPD frequently require lengthy hospital stays and extensive post-discharge medical care. A diagnosis of BPD is a strong predictor of long-term impairment in lung function, cardiovascular health, growth and neurodevelopment. Learn more about CHOP’s Newborn and Infant Chronic Lung Disease Program.
The conference featured an expanded program this year that included a one-and-a-half-day educational conference, a poster session and a three-hour post-conference colloquium. Attendees represented a wide range of disciplines, including neonatology, pulmonology, advanced practice nursing, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, bedside nursing and respiratory therapy, as well as pharmacy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, nutrition and social work. All presentations were delivered live and included audience Q-and-A sessions. Continuing medical education credits were available for physicians, nurses, pharmacists and dietitians, with continuing education credits offered for four additional disciplines.
“The tremendous success of this multidisciplinary conference was driven by the open exchange of expertise, perspectives and experiences that strengthened collaboration and inspired continued innovation,” says Kathleen A. Gibbs, MD, Medical Director of CHOP’s Newborn and Infant Chronic Lung Disease Program. “Signature highlights that continue to resonate year after year include the Family Perspective presentation, the Great Debate, the Interactive Ventilator Strategies Workshop, and the ‘Ask the Expert’ open forum, all of which foster dynamic discussion and meaningful engagement across disciplines. These highly interactive experiences are consistently well received and remain a defining and valued component of the conference experience.”
“It was a distinct honor to bring together and showcase a diverse group of distinguished national and international experts dedicated to advancing the care of infants with CLD and supporting their families this year,” says Kathy Nilan, RN, nurse coordinator of the Newborn and Infant Chronic Lung Disease Program and conference co-director.
The year’s conference featured two keynote speakers:
- Sailesh Kotecha, PhD, Cardiff School of Medicine, United Kingdom, who presented Looking Beyond Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia: Prematurity-Associated Lung Disease (PLD)
- David N. Cornfield, MD, chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Asthma, and Sleep Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and founder and co-director of the Physician-Scientist Fellowship Program at Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, who presented BPD, Then and Next.
Conference faculty included more than 60 speakers from CHOP’s CLD team, members of the BPD Collaborative and interdisciplinary specialists from leading institutions across the United States dedicated to caring for infants and children with CLD.
One of the conference’s most impactful sessions was “A Family Perspective: From NICU Nurse to NICU Mom & Everything in Between,” presented by Ashely and Adam Lambert, parents of Ford, a NICU graduate. Their presentation offered a firsthand perspective on the family’s journey through the neonatal intensive care experience and highlighted the importance of family-centered care in supporting children with CLD and their caregivers.
The conference also featured a robust poster session, “Knowledge and Cocktails: A Perfect Combination!” Co-sponsored by CHOP and the BPD Collaborative, the session showcased 38 posters highlighting innovative clinical practices, quality improvement initiatives and emerging research related to BPD and chronic lung disease care.
Attendees also had the opportunity to participate in a post-conference colloquium featuring two educational tracks. Participants could engage with research scientists exploring emerging BPD research or attend multidisciplinary clinical sessions, including demonstrations of Electrical Impedance Tomography, an emerging noninvasive thoracic imaging technology.
Interactive workshops in ventilation strategies and supporting development in infants returned this year, providing attendees with hands-on opportunities to engage with faculty through simulators, videos and audience-response technology while working through real-world clinical scenarios.
Organizers look forward to building on the conference’s success and continuing to offer innovative educational opportunities, expert faculty and engaging programming at the 2027 CHOP Chronic Lung Disease Conference.
Save the Date
Join us for the 2027 CLD Conference
Tuesday, March 2 – Wednesday, March 3, 2027
Hilton Penn’s Landing • Philadelphia, PA
Contact us
Newborn and Infant Chronic Lung Disease Program