9:30–10:30 a.m.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS — Delivering High-Quality Care to Diverse Populations: Pursuing Value and Equity in a Time of Health Care Transformation, Joseph R. Betancourt, MD, MPH, Disparities Solutions Center and Massachusetts General Hospital

Improving quality, achieving equity and pursuing value in health care will be essential in a time of increasing diversity and rapid transformation. Research has shown that minorities, and other vulnerable populations, receive lower quality health care, even when they have the same insurance as their majority counterparts. The Institute of Medicine’s seminal reports “Crossing the Quality Chasm” and “Unequal Treatment” both highlight the root causes of these disparities and variations in quality and provide a blueprint for action. This presentation will highlight these and more current findings, along with some practical, actionable health care strategies — including the incorporation of cross-cultural care, or cultural competence — which will improve quality, achieve equity, and drive towards value.

Learning objectives:

1. Define disparities in health and health care, and review the root causes.
2. Present the key quality, safety, value and cost drivers for efforts focused on equity.
3. Provide practical, actionable strategies to improve quality and achieve equity, including the deployment of cultural competence initiatives.

10:45–11:30 a.m.

Current and Future Applications of Gene Therapy, Andrew M. Davidoff, MD, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Gene therapy involves altering the genes inside the body’s cells in an effort to treat or stop disease. Either a faulty gene is replaced or a new gene is added in an attempt to cure disease or improve the body’s ability to fight disease. Important medical advances in gene therapy have been achieved during the past few years, with clinical translational trials underway for a wide range of deadly diseases. Among the most notable advancements are gene therapy for genetic disorders, such as severe combined immune deficiency (SCID), chronic granulomatus disorder (CGD) and hemophilia; and for acquired diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases, HIV, heart disease, and diabetes. This session will review the role of gene therapy in the treatment of hereditary diseases, with a focus on hemophilia.

Learning objectives:

1. Discuss the role of gene therapy in the treatment of hereditary diseases.
2. Identify current applications of gene therapy for genetic diseases.
3. Describe recent developments in gene transfer for hemophilia.

11:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

Advances in CAR T-Cell Immunotherapy in Leukemia, Shannon L. Maude, MD, PhD, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy continues to have impressive showings in patients with aggressive hematologic malignancies with no other promising treatment options. This session will discuss outcomes when using T-cell immunotherapy against relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Learning objectives:

1. Describe the role of immunotherapy on a patient’s own immune T cells and the patient’s leukemia cells.
2. Discuss advances in immunotherapy for ALL and the promising results that are emerging from clinical trials.

2:30–3:15 p.m.

Metabolic Surgery and Transplantation, Tayyab S. Diwan, MD, University of Cincinnati Medical Center

Obesity in transplantation has become prevalent and presents a difficult dilemma for transplant programs. Many transplant centers consider obesity a relative contraindication for transplant due to the associated risks of surgical complications. There are limited clinical alternatives for the management of obesity in the transplant patient other than metabolic surgery, diet and exercise. This session will discuss the safety and efficacy of metabolic surgery, including the sustainability of weight control over the long term and its effect on posttransplant weight gain.

Learning objectives:

1. Discuss the role of metabolic surgery for medical weight loss approaches pretransplant.
2. State the associated risks of surgical complications in obese patients.

3:15–4:00 p.m.

The Impact of Frailty on Posttransplant Outcomes, Michelle James, MS, RN, CNS, CCTN, APRN-BC, and Michael Petty, PhD, RN, CCNS, ACNS-BC, University of Minnesota Health

Frailty impacts various general aspects of health care and, in particular, organ transplantation, including patient selection, waitlist management and treatment posttransplant. In general, frailty has been characterized by a compromised physiological reserve. In comparison to healthy aging, inflammatory markers and cytokines are increased in frail older adults. Thus, modifications of the immune response, in addition to physical limitations and changes of metabolism, are likely to impact outcomes after transplantation. This session will discuss the importance of a risk assessment of frailty at the time of transplant evaluation and review effects on outcomes and recovery posttransplant.

Learning objectives:

1. Summarize the pathophysiology of frailty and consequences on immune responses and metabolism.
2. Discuss how frailty impacts transplant outcomes.
3. Define the role that frailty plays in identifying transplant candidates.

4:00–5:00 p.m.

Increasing Living Donation in Minorities: Special Focus on Hispanics, Juan C. Caicedo, MD, Northwestern Medicine; Soledad Mendoza, Kidney Transplant Donor and Alberto Orozco, Kidney Transplant Recipient

For Hispanic/Latino individuals, not having a Spanish-speaking health care provider to help guide them through the transplant process can mean unnecessary suffering and even death. Having a transplant program tailored for the Hispanic and Latino communities with a bilingual team of surgeons, nurses, social workers, transplant specialists, and support staff can make life-saving surgeries more accessible by removing cultural and linguistic barriers. This presentation will include participation from the director of a Hispanic transplant program, as well as a transplant donor and recipient that received care through this culturally sensitive program. The panel will share their experiences and discuss how the program helps patients and their families learn about the options, risks, and benefits of living- and deceased-donor-kidney transplants so they can make informed decisions about what is best for them.

Learning objectives:

1. Summarize the Hispanic Transplant Program.
2. Identify the impact cultural and linguistic barriers have on transplantation and their outcomes.
3. Discuss the experience of transplant from a donor’s and recipient’s perspective.