The Temple Lung Center is the home of leading-edge clinical trials, innovative treatment options, and internationally-renowned specialists. It’s also the co-host of the GOLD International COPD Conference: the world’s largest educational symposium on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
“The mission of our co-sponsor, the Global Initiative for Chronic Lung Disease (GOLD), is to increase awareness of COPD and to promote the diagnosis and evidence-based treatment of COPD patients,” says Gerard J. Criner, MD, FACP, FACCP, Director of the Temple Lung Center, and Chair and Professor of Thoracic Medicine and Surgery at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine. “At each year’s conference, we announce the annual GOLD Report, which presents the latest findings in COPD treatment and research.”
The 2025 GOLD Report featured three new sections on cardiovascular risk, pulmonary hypertension, and global climate change. From November 11-12, over 1,000 attendees gathered virtually and in person to explore these findings and to celebrate the conference’s ninth year. There were eight moderated sessions with more than 30 speakers, including many sought-after COPD experts.
Temple Health’s own Kristin Criner, MD presented a session on “Metabolic Disorders in Patients with COPD,” during which she discussed how COPD patients often have multimorbidities, the most common being diabetes. COPD patients with diabetes tend to present with the more severe phenotype and to have worse outcomes.
Dr. Kristin Criner and the other speakers presented to an audience of healthcare providers involved in caring for COPD patients, including pulmonologists, primary care physicians, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.
“This year’s symposium will be published as a supplement to the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine in March,” Dr. Gerard Criner says. “All of the content and recorded video from the conference is also free to access on the GOLD website.”
This is a wealth of knowledge for researchers and providers who work with COPD patients—which is why the GOLD Conference is so important. “All of the sessions complemented one another, in terms of the novel therapies they presented,” says Dr. Gerard Criner. “Now, there are multiple treatment paradigms that can help COPD patients live full and healthy lives.”
