Tickets on Sale for Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research June Summit

The Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR) is holding a two-day virtual patient education summit focused on providing relevant medical content on sarcoidosis, patient and care-partner perspectives, and updates on current and future research in the field.

To attend the summit, set for June 12–13, patients and caregivers can buy their tickets and register until June 10. Entrances are available at $60 to early birds who register before May 21. Price goes up to $100 for those who register at later dates.

A limited number of scholarships will also be provided by the foundation to participants in need. Applications should be sent as soon as possible, up to June 6, to ensure best chances of being awarded a registration.

This year’s summit will be held through a “fun, interactive new platform,” FSR stated in its announcement, and will include new features and sessions based on feedback from 2020 participants.

The platform will ‘open’ four days before the summit’s start, and it will allow participants to mark the sessions they want to attend in a personalized agenda to help navigation.

It will also contain tracks for newly diagnosed sarcoidosis patients, and for those who have been living with the disease for several years. Each track will also provide more diagnosis-specific content.

This year’s program will also include five plenary sessions.

The “Answering Your Medical Questions” session will offer 50 minutes of Q&As with sarcoidosis generalists, while the “FSR Speakers Bureau Showcase” session will allow members of FSR’s first-ever Speakers Bureau to share their experiences as people living with sarcoidosis, or care partners.

In the “FSR Perspective & Resources” session, FSR will provide insights on its work and projects for 2021–22. It will also share information on how to find a knowledgeable health provider, and to use the more than 40 FSR-World Association of Sarcoidosis and Other Granulomatous Disorders Centers of Excellence around the world.

The foundation will also describe how it is supporting and funding research aimed at developing better treatments or a potential cure for sarcoidosis at the “Research Update” session. Members from FSR’s Clinical Studies Network will also discuss successes in sarcoidosis research.

In the “Providers as Patients Panel” session, a panel of FSR patient advocates and navigators will share their perspectives on being both someone living with sarcoidosis, and a healthcare provider. They will explore important topics such as care-coordination, communicating with providers, and more.

FSR also noted that this year’s summit will offer more opportunities for participants to connect with other attendees and exhibitors.

These will include an in-system video chat, with group chat availability, several chat rooms based on topic of interest, an all-day “coffee break” area staffed by FSR patient advocates, and personalized connections based on participant’s region and interest in sarcoidosis.

The FSR’s mindfulness and meditation Wellness Series and educational webinars will also be available within the summit’s virtual platform.