Conference Overview

The 6th International Conference on Cardiomyopathy in Children is a CME-accredited medical event hosted by the Cincinnati Children’s Heart Institute, Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation, and Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry. This two-day virtual conference, to be held May 10-11, 2024, is the leading meeting focused exclusively on cardiomyopathies in children. This conference series began in 2007 and occurs every 2-3 years with the last meeting attended by hundreds of global participants. The conference will convene top experts in the field of cardiology and genetics to determine research priorities and develop strategies for improving the management, treatment, and health outcomes of children with cardiomyopathy.

Purpose & Format

This meeting will bring together a multidisciplinary group of medical and healthcare professionals, including clinicians, genetic counselors, nurses, pharmacists, and researchers to discuss the most up-to-date evidence on the optimal management of pediatric cardiomyopathy and to shape the direction of future research on the disease. Through a combination of interactive presentations, case studies, panel discussions, and debates, the conference seeks to identify data gaps and needs, future research directions, new approaches and technologies that will lead to better outcomes, and improved preventive and interventional strategies.

Friday, May 10, 2024

11:00 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. Eastern Standard Time 

11:00 a.m. – 11:10 a.m. | WELCOME 

Conference Chairs: Steven Lipshultz, MD – University at Buffalo; Thomas Ryan, MD, PhD – Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; and Teresa Lee, MD, MS – Columbia University Medical Center 

11:10 a.m. – 12:50 p.m. | DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY IN CHILDREN 

Session Leaders: Molly Brickler, MSN, CPNP-AC – Children’s Wisconsin; Daphne Hsu, MD – The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore; Paul Kantor MBBCh, MSc, FRCPC – Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; and Thomas Ryan, MD, PhD – Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center 

Management of Asymptomatic Dilated Cardiomyopathy | Steven Lipshultz, MD – University at Buffalo 

Debate: Cardiac Remodeling and Recovery – Guideline Directed Medical Therapy and Mechanical Circulatory Support  | Angela Lorts, MD, MBA – Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and Melanie Everitt, MD – Children’s Hospital Colorado  

Social Determinants and Dilated Cardiomyopathy | Alfred Asante-Korang, MD – Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital 

12: 50 p.m. – 1:40 p.m. | LUNCH BREAK 

1:40 p.m. – 3:10 p.m. | INTEGRATING GENETICS IN CARDIOMYOPATHY CARE: CURRENT APPROACHES TO TESTING AND TREATMENT 

Session Leaders: Teresa Lee, MD, MS - Columbia University Medical Center; Erin Miller, MS, CGC - Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; Jeffrey Towbin, MD – Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital ; and Mary Riedy, PharmD, BCPPS – University at Buffalo 

Bridging the Gap in Genetic Evaluation for Pediatric Cardiomyopathy 

Clinical Approach: Linda Knight, MS, CGC, LGC – Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta 

Variant Classification/Clinical Interpretation: Melissa Kelly, MS, CGC – Geiser Health System 

Activity Lead: Stephanie Ware, MD, PhD – Indiana University School of Medicine  

3:10 p.m. – 3:25 p.m. | BREAK  

3:25 p.m. – 4:35 p.m.

Harnessing Genetics for Patient Care in Pediatric Cardiomyopathy 
RASopathies: Bruce Gelb, MD – Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai  | Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: Larry Markham, MD – Indiana University Medical School  

Debate: Novel Forms of Cardiomyopathy with Overlapping Features  | YES, They Exist and Determine Therapies, Jeffrey Towbin, MD – Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and Overlapping Phenotypes Do Not Exist & Specific Gene Defects Do Not Determine Therapy, Jeffrey Kim, MD – Texas Children’s Hospital  

4:35 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. | DAY 1 MEETING ADJOURNS 
Conference chairs: Steven Lipshultz, MD; Thomas Ryan, MD, PhD; and Teresa Lee, MD, MS 

Saturday, May 11, 2024 

11:00 a.m. – 5:10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time 

11:00 a.m. – 11:10 a.m. | WELCOME

Conference Chairs: Steven Lipshultz, MD – University at Buffalo; Thomas Ryan, MD, PhD – Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; Teresa Lee, MD, MS – Columbia University Medical Center

11:10 a.m. – 1:40 p.m. | HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY IN CHILDREN

Session Leaders: Steve Colan, MD – Boston Children’s Hospital; Ashwin Lal, MD – Primary Children’s Hospital; Steven Lipshultz, MD – University at Buffalo; and Charles Canter, MD – Washington University in St. Louis

New and Emerging Therapies for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy | Carolyn Ho, MD – Harvard Medical School

Risk Stratification for Pediatric Patients with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy | Steven Colan, MD – Boston Children’s Hospital

Sports Participation in Pediatric and Young Adult Patients with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy | Rachel Lampert, MD – Yale School of Medicine

Debate: Controversies in Clinical Management of Pediatric Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Patients | Moderator: Steven Lipshultz, MD – University at Buffalo, Ashwin Lal, MD – Primary Children’s Hospital and Charles Canter, MD – Children’s Hospital St. Louis

1:40 p.m. – 2:40 p.m. | LUNCH AND LEARN – HOT TOPICS IN PEDIATRIC CARDIOMYOPATHY – NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL STRESSORS

Session Leaders: Molly Brickler, MSN, CPNP-AC – Children’s Wisconsin; Daphne Hsu, MD – The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore; and Thomas Ryan, MD, PhD – Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Emotional Well-being in Children and Parents of Children with Cardiomyopathy | Nadine Kasparian, PhD, MAPS – Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Working Together to Support School Performance in Patients with Cardiomyopathy | Kyle Landry, MEd – Children’s Wisconsin

2:40 p.m. – 2:55 p.m. | BREAK

2:55 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Session Leaders: Wendy Chung, MD, PhD – Boston Children’s Hospital; Joseph Rossano, MD, MS – Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Shelley Miyamoto, MD – Children’s Hospital Colorado

Improved Methods of Data Collection to Inform Evidence-based Care and Assess New Treatments | Christopher Almond, MD – Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford

What Can We Learn from Negative Clinical Trials? | Joseph Rossano, MD, MS – Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Gene Therapy and Gene Editing | Kathryn Chatfield, MD, PhD – Children’s Hospital Colorado

Genetically Based Newborn Screening for Cardiomyopathy | Wendy Chung, MD, PhD – Boston Children’s Hospital

Future Directions Panel Discussion

Moderator: Shelley Miyamoto, MD – Children’s Hospital Colorado | Panel: Christopher Almond, MD – Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital; Joseph Rossano, MD, MS – Children’s Hospital Philadelphia; Kathryn Chatfield, MD, PhD – Children’s Hospital Colorado; Wendy Chung, MD, PhD – Boston Children’s Hospital; Robert Weintraub, MBBS – Royal Children’s Hospital; and Angela Lorts, MD, MBA – Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

5:00 p.m. – 5:10 p.m. | DAY 2 MEETING ADJOURNS
Conference chairs: Steven Lipshultz, MD; Thomas Ryan, MD, PhD; and Teresa Lee, MD, MS

In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Cincinnati Children’s, Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry (PCMR), and Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation. Cincinnati Children’s is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

CME: This activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.

ABP MOC Part 2: Successful completion of this CME activity enables the participant to earn MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABP MOC credit.

CNE: This activity is approved for continuing nursing education (CNE) contact hours. This activity is designed for the additional hours required for APRNs with prescriptive authority in Ohio.

This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credits for learning and change.