Welcome to the American Thoracic Society (ATS), homepage for Early and Mid Career Professionals!
This site supports the professional journey of medical students, residents, fellows and junior faculty on their path to successful careers in Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine. Feel free to email us at fellows@thoracic.org.
Vaishnavi Kundel, MD, MS
Program Director, Sleep Medicine Fellowship
Associate Professor of Medicine
Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
My involvement with the ATS has been transformative in shaping my career trajectory, truly enriching my professional development. I first attended the ATS as an internal medicine resident in 2014, where my introduction to the Residents Bootcamp left me impressed by the scale of the conference and the myriad of networking opportunities available. ... Since then, I have embraced every opportunity provided by ATS, participating in various early career events such as the Fellow-to-Faculty Bootcamp, the New Faculty Bootcamp, and the Fellows Case Conference. Regular attendance at the ATS International Conference has been instrumental in allowing me to forge critical connections with mentors and peers, significantly expanding my professional network. These experiences have equipped me with invaluable skills and insights, especially as I transitioned into leadership roles, including serving as co-chair of the Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology Assembly’s Early Career Working Group, and now as the Program Director of the Sleep Fellowship at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Currently, as an active member of the ATS Steering Committee on Advancement and Learning (ScALE, formerly ATS Training Committee), I continue to tremendously benefit from, and contribute to this essential platform for growth, collaboration, and advancement in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine for incoming early career professionals.
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Tips to help you grow with ATS
- Check out the ATS Assemblies, Sections and Interest Groups for many learning opportunities and fun ways to get involved.
- Learn about our member-driven organization by reading about ATS Leadership and Governance. Active members help the Society to develop statements and guidelines, create new educational programs, prioritize content for existing activities and guide the political voice of the ATS. Belonging to the ATS will also give you access to an outstanding networking system, which is valuable for research collaborations, clinical consultations, mentoring and employment opportunities. The ATS needs the active input of its members to excel and improve. ATS leaders are actively soliciting the voice of junior members, so the best time to get involved is now!
- Take advantage of many learning opportunities including webinars, podcasts and CME/MOC from ATS Ed+
Early Career Opportunities at the ATS International Conference
Erica Lin, MD
Associate Chief of Staff for Education
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep Medicine and Physiology, UCSD
ATS profoundly impacted my career as an early junior faculty member. I was incredibly fortunate to be part of such a welcoming and supportive community, and the people that I met through this organization are just so awe-inspiring ... Collaborating with them has been such an enriching experience. Together, we achieved amazing milestones (e.g. completed webinars, published a manuscript, helped teach the next generation, etc). Above all, the experience fostered some strong relationships with truly talented individuals who are always willing and available to provide insight and guidance.
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