The Annual Meeting Planning Committee (AMPC) has developed a robust slate of programming featuring the latest scientific discoveries in rheumatology, updated guidelines for the care of people living with rheumatic disease, active learning opportunities, and more for ACR Convergence 2025.
“The heart of ACR Convergence is the science of rheumatology as presented in the plenary sessions, poster sessions, and abstract sessions, and reviewed in the scientific sessions,” said AMPC Chair Gregory C. Gardner, MD, MACP. “It is the science that drives our field forward and improves the lives of our patients, and attendees can expect that to be the focus of the meeting.”
Registration for the meeting, which will take place October 24–29 at McCormick Place in Chicago, is open, providing two options for in-person attendance, both of which include on-demand access to scientific session recordings through October 31, 2026.
In addition to the cutting-edge science presented by world-class faculty, this international gathering of rheumatology-focused scientists and clinicians offers unique opportunities for formal and information networking that distinguish it from other general rheumatology meetings.
“ACR Convergence is unique in that all rheumatology-focused professionals benefit from the meeting,” Dr. Gardner noted. “It really does encompass the width and breadth of the field of rheumatology.”
The program includes sessions for adult and pediatric basic researchers and clinical scientists and clinicians; health professionals such as physical and occupational therapists; those interested in the business of rheumatology; and medical educators.
Several sessions and courses are back by popular demand in 2025, some after a brief hiatus.
Pre-conference programming includes the all-new Practice Innovation Summit on Friday and Saturday, October 24–25. The summit, which requires a separate registration, will feature important topics for running a successful rheumatology practice. It is tailored to rheumatologists in private and community settings, practice and office managers, advanced practice providers and interprofessional team members, and professionals unable to attend ACR Convergence, but looking for valuable business and clinical education.
Other pre-conference programming is included in All-Access Pass registration, such as the Review Course, featuring eight lectures on a variety of rheumatology topics designed to provide a comprehensive update for practitioners, which will take place on October 25. On the same day, the Basic and Clinical Research Conference will address newer immune-mediated therapies, including chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, with expert faculty, including representatives from rheumatology, oncology, and nephrology.
“This area is progressing rapidly and offers significant therapeutic potential for serious rheumatic disease,” Dr. Gardner said.
Tips for a World-Class ACR Convergence Experience
“For first-timers and returning attendees, my advice is don’t try to do too much! Look through the program and plan your meeting. You can build your itinerary on the ACR Convergence mobile app, once available,” said Annual Meeting Planning Committee (AMPC) Chair Gregory Gardner, MD, MACP, along with the following tips to maximize attendees’ time in Chicago.
- Spend an hour or two before the meeting developing an itinerary based on your interests.
- Attend at least one plenary session and as many poster sessions as possible.
- Attend other sessions that are important to your professional development based on new knowledge presented and your perceived information or skills gap.
- Remember that the content is available to attendees after the meeting online, so you can see what you missed after you get home.
- Finally, take time to reconnect with old friends, make new friends, and enjoy Chicago.
Scientific session highlights of ACR Convergence also include several sessions dedicated to this promising new therapy. Among them are three sessions on Sunday, October 26: Go CAR-Ting and Beyond for Kids: State of the Art of Pediatric Cell-Based Therapies, at 9 a.m.; Driving CAR-T into the Future: What Are the Right B Cell Targets in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Beyond?, at 10:30 a.m.; and The New Rules of the Road: An Update on CAR-T-Mediated Immune Reset for SLE, at 1 p.m.
Attendees also will receive updates on new guidelines for caring for people living with rheumatic disease.
“The ACR Quality of Care Committee has developed a ‘living guideline’ process where guidelines are updated on a regular basis as new information is available rather than at set intervals,” Dr. Gardner explained. “Last year we received an update on the ACR guideline on lupus nephritis, and this year at ACR Convergence, we will hear about a new extrarenal lupus guideline.”
The session 2025 ACR Guidelines for the Treatment of Extrarenal Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) will begin at 9 a.m. October 26. Other guideline discussions include Tackling the Burning Question of Peripheral Neuropathies in Sjögren’s Disease: New Guidelines, at 10:30 a.m. October 26; Reproductive Health Guidelines Turn Five: What’s New and What Now?, at 8:30 a.m. Monday, October 27; and Charting the Path Forward: 2024 DRAFT Updates to ACR JIA Guidelines, at 1 p.m. Tuesday, October 28.
“A must-attend is the Year in Review (at 8 a.m. October 26), where key literature from the preceding year is presented and discussed by leaders in the field,” Dr. Gardner said. “It is the first scientific session of the meeting. This year Anne Davidson, MBBS, FRACP, will review the literature on basic science and Bryant England, MD, PhD, will discuss the clinical literature.”
A full schedule of pre-conference and conference programming is available online.
To enhance the meeting experience, variety of speaker resources are available, and several interactive learning opportunities for attendees have been added throughout the schedule.
“One of my interests as an educator is to increase the quality of the teaching and learning that happen at ACR Convergence,” Dr. Gardner explained. “We can do this by encouraging active learning opportunities during our sessions. Our Quality Improvement in Learning and Teaching (QuILT) group is helping with this effort by providing speakers with teaching tips, one-on-one speaker coaching, and office hours where speakers can get feedback on upcoming presentations from expert educators.”
Once sessions get underway, there will be multiple avenues for attendees to engage with presenters and one another.
“Last year we used Kahoot, an interactive tool for audience participation, and we are exploring the incorporation of other audience-response technology for the meeting. That will open up an exciting opportunity for more active learning happening,” Dr. Gardner said. “We also have an active learning room where attendees can sit at round tables rather than in theater seating for sessions that facilitate interaction between attendees and faculty.”
Meet the Professor sessions, which require a separate registration, also provide a unique opportunity for participants to engage in a small group discussion with leading experts on topics such as vasculitis, myositis, crystalline arthritis, fibromyalgia, and more.
Register Today for ACR Convergence 2025
If you haven’t registered for ACR Convergence 2025, register today to participate in this year’s premier rheumatology experience, October 24–29 in Chicago. All registered participants receive on-demand access to scientific sessions after the meeting through October 31, 2026.