Overview
A nationally recognized leader in hospital medicine and health system innovation, Robert M. Wachter, MD, launches the ATS 2026 International Conference with a can’t-miss talk titled “How AI is Transforming Health Care” at the Opening Ceremony, from 4:15 to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 16. Dr. Wachter will share timely insights from his new book, A Giant Leap: How AI is Transforming Healthcare and What That Means for Our Future, which examines how AI is already entering hospitals and clinics to impact patient care. While unflinchingly confronting the risks of AI, Dr. Wachter also explores opportunities for AI to match, and even surpass, human physicians in areas ranging from diagnosis to empathy.
Dr. Wachter is professor and chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). The author of more than 300 articles and six books, he coined the term “hospitalist” and is a past president of the Society of Hospital Medicine, past chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine, and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine. The Opening Ceremony is free for all registered attendees of the International Conference, offering an early opportunity to connect with peers and hear from some of medicine’s most prominent thought leaders.
This year, the Opening Ceremony will recognize the following Respiratory Health Award recipients:
- Public Service Award: Tyra Bryant-Stephens, MD
- World Lung Health Award: Payam Nahid, MD, MPH
- J. Randall Curtis Humanism Award: Lynn F. Reinke, PhD, ATSF
- Edward Livingston Trudeau Medal: Charles G. Irvin, PhD, ATSF
- J. Burns Amberson Lecture: Marc Peters-Golden, MD
ATS thanks Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., for their generous support of the ATS 2026 Opening Ceremony.