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RhAPP Conference | 2025 Agenda* 

WEDNESDAY, September 24, 2025

 

5:00 - 7:00 PM

Step Into Rheum Welcome Reception*

​

7:00 - 8:00 PM

RhAPPARDY - Trivia Night*

Naomi Amudala, MSN, FNP-BC; Erin Siceloff, PA-C; and Lindsay Tom, PA
​​

THURSDAY, September 25, 2025

 

8:30 - 9:15 AM

Industry-Sponsored Event

​

9:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Bootcamp Block

  • Ask the Experts: Challenging Cases

    • ​Naomi Amudala, MSN, FNP-BC; Philip Mease, MD; Peter Merkel, MD; Amanda Mixon, PA-C;
      Eric Ruderman, MD; and Christy Vath, PA-C

  • New APP Bootcamp: Clinical Pearls for New APPs

    • Kyle George, PA-C and Brittany Sedlacek, PA-C

  • Pediatric: Bootcamp & Knowledge Bowl JIA, SLE, JDM, Autoinflammatory Syndromes

    • Holly Reid, CPNP; Ingrid Pan, PharmD; and Michelle Sutter, CPNP

​

11:00 - 4:00 PM

Industry Forum

​

11:45 - 12:30 PM

Lunch

 

11:45 - 12:30 PM

Industry Sponsored Event*

Sponsored by Eli Lilly

​

1:00 - 3:00 PM

IMID & Obesity Bootcamp

Naomi Amudala, MSN, FNP-BC; Amber Blair, PA-C; Jennifer Geremia, PA-C; and Jennifer Mackey, CNP

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3:00 - 5:00 PM

Rheum-Pulm ILD: Case-Based Insights Bootcamp

Heather Bachert, NP; Shannon Benesh, NP-C; Rachael Busch-Feuer, DNP; Heather Finlayson, PA-C; 

Cori Fratelli, FNP-C; Jessica Glenie, CNP; Jeanette Hart, PA-C; Heather Mambretti, PA-C; Lanier O'Hare, CRNP; 

Candace Ryan, PA-C; Wendy Simmons, PA-C; and Corinne Young, NP

​

5:00 - 6:00 PM

Medical Symposium

Sponsored by Johnson & Johnson

​

6:00 - 7:00 PM

Dinner

​

6:15 - 7:00 PM

Industry-Sponsored Event*

Sponsored by Mallinckrodt

​

7:00 - 8:30 PM

Welcome Reception & Exhibit Hall*

​

 

FRIDAY, September 26, 2025

 

7:45 - 8:30 AM

Workshop Block 1

 

  • Ultrasound

    • McKenna Cornforth, BSN and Nate Mathews, RMSK

  • Joint Injections

    • Shannon Ghizzoni, PA-C; Andrea Mace, PA-C; and Jennifer Mylod, DNP

  • DEXA

    • Michele Volansky, PA-C​

  • Pediatric: Mental Health Screening and Resources

    • Shelby Brooks, CPNP​

  • Rheumatology Emergencies

    • Julie Keegan Strosser, PA-C​

  • Fibromyalgia Mimics

    • Vanessa Hill, NP-C and Christine Stamatos, DNP​

  • Gout

    • Jessica Michaud, PharmD and Shayla Sanders, APRN​

  • A Clinician's Guide to Sarcoid

    • Claudia Rivera Salas, DNP, NP-C, APRN

  • Rheumatology Labs

    • Rana Aoufe, PA-C and Jackie Fritz, RN, BSN, MSN

​

8:45 - 9:30 AM

Breakfast

​

8:45 - 9:30 AM

Industry-Sponsored Event*

An FDA Approved Therapeutic Option For RA, PMR, and pJIA:  Efficacy and Safety Across Indication

Heather Finlayson, MS, PA-C
Sponsored by Sanofi Regeneron

​

9:45 - 9:50 AM

Opening Course Directors' Welcome

​

9:50 - 10:50 AM

Plenary: Year in Review: Pharmacotherapy with Q&A

Jessica Farrell, PharmD and Audrey Gibson, PA-C

​

10:50 - 11:20 AM

Exhibit Hall & Break

​

11:20 - 11:55 AM

Plenary: Dude, Where’s my B cell: Advances in Lupus Nephritis Management and B- Cell Targeted

Therapies with Q&A

Danielle Gatti Palumbo, PharmD and Monica Richey, MSN, ANP-BC
​​

12:00 - 12:45 PM

Lunch

​

12:00 - 12:45 PM

Industry-Sponsored Event*

ACHIEVING YOUR TREATMENT GOALS: Consider When a Treatment Switch in RA May Be the Right
Transition for Your Patients

Audrey Gibson, MsPAS, PA-C
Sponsored by AbbVie

​

1:00 - 1:45 PM

Parallel Sessions

​

  • Rheum-GI Connection

    • Patrick Horne, FNP-BC and Heather Mambretti, PA-C

  • Skin in the Game: Bridging Rheumatology and Dermatology

    • Laura Bush, PA-C

  • Pediatric: Year in Review

    • Hannah Curry, PharmD and Kerry Hurlbut, CPNP​

​

1:45 - 2:15 PM

Exhibit Hall & Break

​

2:15 - 3:00 PM

Parallel Sessions

​

  • An Introduction to IgG4- Related Disease

    • Naomi Amudala, MSN, FNP-BC

  • ​Osteoporosis

    • Heather Mambretti, PA-C

  • ​The Use Of Musculoskeletal Ultrasound In Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

    • Heather Benham, DNP

​

3:05 - 3:50 PM

Workshop Block 2

​

  • Cross-Specialty: Rheum – HemOnc

    • Peter Hakos, PA-C 

  • ​Inflammation at the Heart of it All

    • Laura Ross, PA-C

  • ​Rheumatic Disorders and the Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors on Mental Health

    • Heidi Brown-Posey, PA-C and Talia Sierra, PA-C 

  • Pediatric: Hands-on Pediatric MSK Ultrasound

    • Heather Benham, DNP; Clara Lin, MD; and Kelley Sherrard, US Tech​

  • PharmD Roundtable

    • Tanya Golovanoff, PharmD; Amber Hudgins, PharmD; and Wendy Ramey, PharmD​

  • Ultrasound

    • Nate Mathews, RMSK and McKenna Syphus, BSN​

  • Artificial intelligence, The Future

    • Rachael Busch-Feuer, DNP, APRN and Eric Campbell, PA-C

  • ​Basic and Advanced Joint Injection Workshop

    • Shannon Ghizzoni, PA-C; Andrea Mace, PA-C; and Jennifer Mylod, DNP

​

4:00 - 5:00 PM

Accredited Symposium: Beyond the Dryness: Unraveling Sjögren's Disease Pathophysiology, Systemic Manifestations, and Evolving Treatments

Betsy Kirchner, DNP and Amanda Mixon, PA-C

​

5:00 - 5:45 PM

Dinner

​

5:15 - 6:00 PM

Industry-Sponsored Event*

Sponsored by Novartis

​

6:00 - 6:45 PM

Posters & Prosecco*

​​

​

SATURDAY, September 27, 2025

​

7:30 - 8:15 AM

Workshop Block 3

 

  • Ultrasound

    • Nate Mathews, RMSK and McKenna Syphus, BSN​

  • ZEBRAS

    • Lorena Wilson, PhD, CRNP​

  • Goals of Care and Treatment GCA/PMR

    • Will Saalfeld, DNP and Amanda Sell, PA-C

  • ​Hold That Dose! Clinical Pearls for Managing Immunosuppression in Pediatric Rheumatology

    • Tara Bergland, PharmD and Courtney Kremer, ARNP

  • Rheum Pain & Low Back

    • Vaheed Sevvom, PA-C​

  • Optho/Cap

    • Brandon Runyon, OD​ and Brandon Ko, DNP​

  • What you Earn, and How you Earn it

    • Kyle George, PA-C; Robert Laugherty, PA-C; and Wendy Simmons, PA-C​

  • Joint Injections

    • Shannon Ghizzoni, PA-C; Andrea Mace, PA-C; and Jennifer Mylod, DNP

  • ​Raynauds - Refractory

    • Lisa Asfahani, PA-C

​

​

8:30 - 9:15 AM

Breakfast

​

8:30 - 9:15 AM

Industry-Sponsored Event*

From Diagnosis to Action: Early Treatment in Lupus and Lupus Nephritis

Alfred Kim, MD, PhD
Sponsored by GSK

​

9:25 - 9:30 AM

Opening Course Directors’ Welcome

​

9:30 - 10:05 AM

Plenary: Sjogren’s Disease: Beyond the Dryness

Robert Laugherty, PA-C and Tiffany Terrell, NP-C

​

10:05 - 10:40 AM

Plenary: Spectrum of Arthritis: Peds to Adult Arthritis All Grown Up

Brandon Ko, DNP and Amanda Mixon, PA-C

​

10:40 - 11:15 AM

Plenary: Difficult to Treat RA

Cassie Dolecki, PharmD and Jeannette Hart, PA-C
​

11:15 - 11:45 AM

Exhibit Hall & Break

​

11:45 AM - 12:30 PM

Parallel Sessions

 

  • Show Me the Way: Myositis Mysteries

    • Daric Mueller, PA-C â€‹

  • Scleroderma

    • Jessica Farrell, PharmD

  • ​Pediatric Morphea: Beyond Skin Deep – A Comprehensive Review

    • Quoc Do, MSN, PNP-BC

​

12:45 - 1:30 PM

Lunch

​

12:45 - 1:30 PM

Industry-Sponsored Event*

VISIBLE Results Across All Skin Tones with Tremfya

Douglas DiRuggiero PA-C​
Sponsored by Johnson & Johnson

​

1:40 - 2:25 PM

Parallel Sessions

 

  • Vascular Exam for the Rheumatology APP: Takayasu Arteritis

    • Alice Fike, FNP

  • ​PsA Cases and Comorbidities

    • Eileen Lydon, ANPC-BC

  • ​Key Concepts in Pediatric ANCA-Associated Vasculitis

    • Jessica Bloom, MD and Holly Reid, CPNP

​

2:30 - 2:45 PM

Exhibit Hall & Break

​

2:45 - 3:30 PM

Workshop Block 4

​

  • Immunology to Include CAR-T - Changing Landscape

    • Betsy Kirchner, DNP​

  • Nephrology

    • Mandy Trolinger, PA-C​

  • MFM/Fertility/IVF

    • Michele Cerra, MSN, FNP-BC and Laura Kennedy, PA-C

  • ​Connecting the Dots: Putting Together a Problem List for a Unifying Diagnosis

    • Jamie Puschnig, APNP and Bethany Walker, CPNP​

  • Radiology

    • Wendy Simmons, PA-C

  • ​Behçet's Disease, the Basics and Beyond

    • Stacey Johnson, NP-C

  • ​The Invisible Struggle: Understanding EDS

    • Heather Finlayson, MS, PA-C and Candace Ryan, PA-C​

  • Helpful Herbs for the Rheumatology Patient and 30 Min Intro to Qi Gong for Providers and Patients

    • Chris Title, MSN, BSN, NP and Iris Zink, NPRC

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