Annual TB Conference: The Union - NAR

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! Click here

We are pleased to announce that the 2024 TB Conference website is now open. Information about the agenda, registration fees, continuing education (CE) credits, and hotel reservations can be found on this website.

Access the 2024 TB Conference Website
Access the hotel online reservation system here


Call for Nomination
Secretary-Treasurer, The Union - North America Region

The Union-North America Region is calling for nominations for Secretary-Treasurer to begin term of office on April 19, 2024.

Any active member of the Union is eligible to nominate anyone they think will be best suited for the role.

Nominees must be members of The Union and be willing to serve with the duties described below. Per standing practice, as the current Secretary-Treasurer is from Canada, nominees must be from the US or from English-, French-, or Dutch-speaking countries of the Caribbean and the Americas.

Deadline for submission is February 29, 2024

Nomination forms can be downloaded here and emailed to Menn Biagtan at biagtan@bclung.ca once completed.

Terms of Reference for the position of Secretary-Treasurer:

Per the charter of the NAR, the Secretary-Treasurer serves two years in this position (2024-26) and then moves up to the Vice-President/Program Chair for a further term of two years (2026-28). Following the two years as the Program Chair, the person becomes the Past Vice-President/Program Chair (2028-30) and retains a seat on the Executive Committee of the NAR. The total term of service is 6 years. 

The duty of the Secretary-Treasurer is to oversee the finances of the region with support of the Executive Committee and the Secretariat. In addition, they act as an apprentice to the Program Chair to learn how to plan and run the regional conference.  As part of this role, they will chair the Abstract and Travel Grant Committee for the 2025 and 2026 NAR regional conferences.

As the Vice-President/Program Chair of the region, they will lead the scientific planning of the annual NAR regional conference. They will chair the Conference Planning Committee for the 2027 and 2028 NAR regional conferences.

As the Past Vice-President/Program Chair, they will continue to sit on the NAR Executive Committee from 2028- 2030.

The Executive Committee meets monthly by Web conference as well as face-to-face annually at both the NAR Regional Conference and the Union World Conference on Lung Health. NAR and The Union do not cover conference travel and registration expenses to these meetings. However, it is understood that not all NAR Executive Committee Members will be to attend the World Conference, depending on its location and timing. Finally, the entire Executive Committee is also a part of the Council of the NAR – this body is responsible for the overarching direction of the NAR. The Executive Committee is charged by the Council to carry out its direction between annual meetings of the Council which occur just prior to the NAR Regional meeting.

The term of office for the next Secretary-Treasurer will begin immediately after the closing ceremony of the NAR Regional Conference in Baltimore on April 19, 2024.

Questions related to the Secretary-Treasurer position are encouraged and the current/past Secretary-Treasurers and Program Chairs are available to discuss the role:

Rachel Dwilow: Rachel.Dwilow@umanitoba.ca – Secretary-Treasurer 2022-2024

Jonathan Golub: Jgolub@jhmi.edu -Secretary-Treasurer 2020 -2022

Sarah Brode: sara.brode@utoronto.ca Secretary-Treasurer 2018-20

Lisa Adams: Lisa.V.Adams@dartmouth.edu  Secretary-Treasurer 2016-18

Jay Johnston: James.Johnston@bccdc.ca Secretary-Treasurer 2014-16

Please refer to the NAR Charter for further details.


CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: Deadline extended to January 31, 2024

The North America Region of The Union is calling for Nominations for its Awards. Each year, at the time of our annual meeting we recognize the valuable contributions of our colleagues to tuberculosis (TB) care and prevention.  This year’s meeting will be a joint conference of the Union- NAR and the National TB Controllers of America to be held in Baltimore, MD, USA on April 16-19, 2024.  

Call for the Lifetime Achievement/Service award:

The Service Award is given to individuals who have made a significant contribution to the practice of TB prevention and care. This award may be given annually. Recipients may include administrators, educators, and public health advisors, as well as nurses and physicians. Prior recipients are listed below.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the field of TB over a lifetime through mentoring, education and/or research. This award may be given annually. Recipients may be members of any profession.  Prior recipients are listed below.

If you are a member of The Union-North America Region in good standing, you may nominate a candidate for this award. The nominee need not be a NAR member but must have made their contributions in the NAR region – United States, Canada, or the English, French or Dutch speaking regions of the Caribbean and the Americas.

For list of previous awardees – Click here.

For Service Award – Click here

For Lifetime Achievement Award – Click here

Call for nominations for the Early Career Investigator Award

The Union-North America Region (NAR) Early Career Investigator Award was established in 2019 by the North America Region Executive Committee to recognize an early career researcher for work in tuberculosis (TB) within the first five years of their academic appointment/independent professional career.  The monetary portion of this award is to support research activities related to TB.

Award Eligibility:

  • Early career researcher within 5 years of first appointment as faculty member or TB program member (e.g., public health program)
  • Can be nurse, physician, other health professional, or PhD scientist; must have completed all professional and research training (i.e., cannot be a trainee)
  • Working in NAR countries *
  • Published research in the field of TB.
  • Union membership with regional affiliation in NAR is encouraged but not required.
  • Abstract acceptance by the NAR Annual Conference at least once in the last 5 years (can include year of nomination)

Required documents:

  • Completed nomination form by an eligible nominator.
  • A letter of nomination that describes the novelty, impact, and significance of the work, and that includes a statement of the role of the nominee.
  • Updated curriculum vitae (CV) of the nominee outlining their education, past and current positions, grant support, training, and publications (CV must be dated within 6 months of the call for nominations)

To nominate an individual for the Early Career Investigator Award - Click here

We will be accepting nominations up until January 31, 2024. Please send all nominations to Menn Biagtan at biagtan@bclung.ca.


Speaker's Disclosure Form


 

2023 NAR Conference Archive:

 

POSTGRADUATE COURSE 1:

The Knowledge Management Loop: From Hard-Core Research to the 2-minute Elevator Pitch (Lena Faust, Petra Heitkamp, Kate O'Brien)

A New Tool You Can Use to Enhance Your Literacy (Ms. Jennifer Woolley)

How to Have a Powerful Meeting with Decision Makers (Ms. Leigh Raithby, Dr. Elizabeth Rea)

POSTGRADUATE COURSE 2:

Introduction to Implementation Science and Why It Is Relevant to TB (Dr. Christopher Hoffmann)

Implementation Science to Improve TB Prevention among Immigrant Communities in California (Dr. Amy Tang, Dr. Priya Shete)

Implementation Science and TB Preventative Therapy (TPT) (Dr. Patrick Sullivan)

Panel Discussion: Bringing Implementation Science to Public Health Programs

Dr. Laura Vonnahme

THE GEORGE COMSTOCK LECTURE:

The Spectrum of TB in Pregnancy - Increasing Awareness in Hope of Better Outcomes (Dr. Barbara Seaworth)

STOP TB SESSION: Implementation in a Post-Pandemic World:

The Updated Global Plan to End TB (Dr. Paula Fujiwara)

Pakistan's Experience with Building an Enhanced Digital TB Surveillance System (Dr. Syed Karam Shah)

Using Public-Private Partnerships to Help End TB (Ms. Petra Heitkamp)

Oral Abstract Presentation #1: Uniting Innovation with Implementation: An Evidence Synthesis of Implementation Strategies to Increase the Uptake and Impact of Molecular WHO-Recommended Rapid TB Dagnostic Tests (Dr. Abarna Pearl)

Industry Sponsored Satellite Symposium (QIAGEN)

Nursing and Allied Health Sponsored Session: Community Engagement to Build Trust & Transform Health Systems:

Prevention and Treatment of Tuberculosis in Indigenous Communities: Highlights from the 8th Edition of the Canadian Tuberculosis Standards (Mr. Jonathan Dunn)

Award Ceremony:

Dr. Charles Peloquin

Dr. Max Salfinger

Challenging Cases Pt. 1:

Case #1 (Dr. James Gaensbauer)

Case #2 (Dr. Imelda Villarosa)

Case #3 (Dr. William Connors)

TB and Pregnancy Session:

Case Presentation (Dr. Rachel Dwilow)

TB Infection in Pregnancy: Novel Insights into Immunology and Prevention (Dr. Jyoti Mathad)

Best Practices for the Care of Pregnant and Peripartum People with DR-TB (Dr. Jennifer Furin)

The Beyond TB Lecture: Novel Strategies for Wastewater Surveillance (Dr. Amy Kirby)

TB Science: What's Hot?

Making Cough Count in Tuberculosis (Dr. Simon Grandjean Lapierre)

Innovations in Non-Sputum-Based TB Diagnostics in Adults and Children (Dr. Tania Thomas)

Epidemiology of TB Transmission in the United States (Dr. Sourya Shrestha)

Oral Abstract Presentation #3: Incorporations of Clinical Factors to Improve the Diagnostic Accuracy of Artificial Intelligence-Based Chest X-Ray Analysis for Detecting Pulmonary Tuberculosis (Ms. Coralie Geric)

Challenging Cases Pt. 2:

Case #1 (Dr. Tine Vindenes)

Case #2 (Dr. Savio Nguyen)

Case #3 (Ms. Sarah Silverberg)

Subclinical TB: Challenges in Diagnosis, Treatment, and Transmission:

Overview: Subclinical TB and Its Global Burden (Dr. Emily Kendall)

The Role of Subclinical TB in Transmission (Dr. Barun Mathema)

Will Subclinical TB Hinder TB Elimination in North America? (Dr. Jonathon Campbell)

Oral Abstract Presentation #4: A Comparison of the Chest Radiographic and Computed Tomographic Features of Subclinical Pulmonary Tuberculosis (Dr. Angela Lau)

General Assembly (Dr. Kevin Schwartzman)

Clinical Trials Update:

TRUNCATE (2m DS-TB) (Dr. Nick Paton)

SUDOCU - A Phase 2b Trial of Sutezolid, Bedaquiline, Delamanid and Moxifloxacin for TB (Dr. Norbert Heinrich)

TB PRACTECAL: Final Clinical Trials Results (Dr. Bern-Thomas Nyang'wa)

STREAM Stage 2: Week 76 Results (Dr. ID Rusen)

Oral Abstract Presentation #5: A Randomized Controlled Trial to Identify the Optimal Dose of Levofloxacin for the Treatment of Rifampicin-Resistant TB (Dr. Patrick Phillips)


View the conference program HERE.

View the abstracts HERE.

View the conference evaluation form HERE.

A Message from Dr. Jonathan Golub, 2022 Program Chair/Vice President, The Union-NAR

We hope you will join us in Vancouver for the END TB: 27th Annual Conference of The Union - North America Region! Our multidisciplinary planning committee has assembled an engaging lineup of speakers that will cover timely topics in TB prevention and care, including the updated Global Plan to End TB, TB and pregnancy, subclinical TB, community engagement, recent therapeutic trials, and novel diagnostics. We are also thrilled to have Dr. Barbara Seaworth and Dr. Amy Kirby as our keynote speakers for the George Comstock Lecture and the Beyond TB Lectures respectively. This year we have expanded our programming on challenging clinical TB cases chaired by our multidisciplinary expert panel. We also hope you will join us early for our free pre-conference postgraduate workshops on research literacy and advocacy for clinicians, researchers and survivors, and an introduction to implementation science. We look forward to welcoming you in Vancouver, along with a diverse group of TB advocates, survivors, scientists, clinicians, and program managers, to network and discuss the latest in TB.


2023 Lifetime Achievement Awards

Congratulations to our Lifetime Achievement Awardees: Dr. Max Salfinger and Dr. Charles Peloquin


2023 Early Career Investigator Award

Congratulations to our Early Career Investigator Awardee: Dr. Simon Grandjean Lapierre


CALL FOR SPONSORSHIPS

Looking for sponsors for this year's NAR Conference. Connect exhibitors and sponsors with delegates leading the work in TB and lung health around the world. View our sponsorship packages to see what fits you best.

View Sponsorship Package


NAR CHARTER

This charter governs the North America Region (NAR) established by the General Assembly of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union).

Read the NAR Charter

 

CONFERENCE ARCHIVES 

Page Last Updated: 31/01/2024