in coordination with the
and
5th Annual Pulmonary/Critical Care Conference of the Desert
June 6, 2026
Classic Club
75-200 Classic Club Blvd
Palm Desert, CA
Diamond Sponsor
Gold Sponsor
Highlights from last
year's conference!
The Speakers
FEATURED MEDICAL EXPERTS
Shahriyar Tavakoli, M.D., FCCP, MHA
Co-Chair
Shahriyar Tavakoli, M.D., FCCP, MHA
Co-Chair
Specialties
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Pulmonary Medicine
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Critical Care Medicine
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Neurocritical Care Medicine
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Civil Surgeon
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Dr. Tavakoli is board certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, Critical Care Medicine, and Neurocritical Care Medicine. He was an Assistant Professor at Loma Linda University Medical Center in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Hyperbaric, Allergy, and Sleep Medicine, and remains actively engaged in the clinical practice of pulmonary and critical care medicine.
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He also serves as a Physician Leader at the Lucent Neuroscience Institute. Dr. Tavakoli previously chaired the Critical Care Conference at the Annenberg Center at Eisenhower Medical Center for 15 years and is now pioneering a new educational initiative through the Desert Institute of Continuing Education, Inc., now hosting its fifth annual Pulmonary/Critical Care Conference. Dr. Tavakoli has authored numerous publications and maintains a strong interest in medical education and clinical research.
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Ara Klijian, M.D.
Co-Chair
Indications for Chest Tube Insertion
and Management
Specialties
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Cardio-Thoracic Surgeon
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Ara Klijian, MD, is the Director of the Minimally Invasive Cardiovascular and Thoracic Institute of San Diego and is an attending in Cardio-thoracic and Vascular Surgery at Sharp, Scripps Hospitals of San Diego, California. He specializes and is considered to be a pioneer in Awake Video Assisted Thoracic Surgery (AVATS). He also specializes in minimally invasive cardiac and thoracic surgery, lung and esophageal surgery for benign and malignant disease and advanced lung cancer resections. He has authored many publications and is very interested in teaching and clinical research. He is a member of the planning committee for the Pulmonary/Critical Care Conference of the Desert.
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Ara Klijian, M.D.
Co-Chair
Indications for Chest Tube Insertionand Management
Management of Vaso Pressure in ICU
Steven Hollenberg, M.D.
Critical Care Medicine, Cardiology
Management of Vaso Pressure in ICU
Specialties
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Cardiology
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Critical Care Medicine
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Steve Hollenberg was educated at Amherst College and Emory University School of Medicine, and then trained in internal medicine at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical College, in critical care medicine at the National Institutes of Health, and in cardiovascular diseases at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He is currently Professor of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and Director of Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at the Emory Heart & Vascular Center.
He has participated in guideline development in both critical care and cardiology, including the Surviving Sepsis Campaign, the AHA/ACC guidelines on Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, Heart Failure, and Chest Pain, as well as chairing an Expert Consensus Decision Pathway on Assessment of Trajectory and Risk in Hospitalized Heart Failure patients.
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Mohsen Davoudi, M.D., M.S.
Pulmonary Disease Specialist
Difficult Airway: An Algorithmic Approach
Dr. Davoudi is an interventional pulmonologist and currently serves as Director of Interventional Pulmonary and Thoracic Oncology at Stony Brook University Hospital, within the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine. He is also a Professor at the Renaissance School of Medicine.
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Dr. Davoudi brings more than 36 years of clinical experience, with extensive expertise in pulmonary disease, critical care medicine, and interventional pulmonology.
Difficult Airway: An Algorithmic Approach
Ara Chrissian, M.D., FCCP, DAABIP
Interventional Pulmonologist
Pleural Space Infections
Specialties
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Internal Medicine
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Pulmonary Disease
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Critical Care Medicine
Dr. Ara A. Chrissian is a board-certified Interventional Pulmonologist and Intensivist, serving as faculty at Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he is the Director for Adult Bronchoscopy and Interventional Pulmonology.
Dr. Chrissian is also heavily involved in medical education. During his time at Loma Linda, he has served as the Associate Director of the Pulmonary and Critical Care fellowship and has been nominated for and received several awards and distinctions for teaching both residents and fellows. He has established and been involved in maintaining several innovative curricula, such as those for bronchoscopy, lung cancer, and critical care ultrasound. He also sits on national committees, including the Education Committee for the American Association of Bronchoscopy and International Pulmonology, for which he is the lead on multiple educational projects.
Pleural Space Infections
Lung Cancer Immunotherapy: Approved Agents, Efficacy and Management of Immune-Related Adverse Events
Glen P. Morehead, M.D.
Medical Oncologist
Lung Cancer Immunotherapy: Approved Agents, Efficacy and Management of Immune-Related Adverse Events
Dr. Glen Morehead has been affiliated with the Comprehensive Cancer Center since 2020, where he practices as a specialist in Medical Oncology. He is board certified in Medical Oncology and Internal Medicine.
Dr. Morehead completed his Oncology Fellowship at the McGill University Cancer Center in Montreal, Canada, and earned his Internal Medicine degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Montgomery.
He is the founder of Spalding Oncology, a medical oncology practice in Griffin, Georgia, and was among the founding physicians of the Spalding Wellstar Cancer Program. During his tenure there, Dr. Morehead also served as Chief of Staff at Spalding Wellstar Hospital.
Dr. Morehead currently sees patients at the Comprehensive Cancer Center’s main facility located at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs.
Henri Colt, M.D.
Title to follow
Henri Colt, M.D. is emeritus professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of California, a medical ethicist, philosopher, and mountaineer who has worked, traveled, lived, and lectured on six continents. He grew up in New York but moved to France when he was a teenager. There, he discovered his love for art, literature, the outdoors, philosophy, and science.
Dr. Colt is an award-winning medical educator, founder of the transnational group of airway specialists-Bronchoscopy International, a Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine, and a pioneer in the field of Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology. He is also a philosophical practitioner and widely sought after public speaker who lectures about ethics and education, art and illness, the humanities in medicine, and emotional issues surrounding death and dying.
Title to follow
Dermatology in the ICU Setting
Keyan Matinpour, M.D.
Dermatologist
Dermatology in the ICU Setting
Specialties
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Dermatology
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Micrographic Dermatologic Surgery
Keyan Matinpour, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist with fellowship training in Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Dermatologic Oncology. He earned his medical degree from the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, where he graduated at the top of his class and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He also received the Longmire Medal from UCLA’s Department of Surgery, an honor awarded to only one graduating student per class.
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Dr. Matinpour completed his internal medicine internship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and his dermatology residency at Baylor College of Medicine in the Texas Medical Center, the world’s largest medical complex. He then pursued advanced training through an American College of Mohs Surgery–approved fellowship in Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Dermatologic Oncology at Houston Methodist Hospital, training under Leonard H. Goldberg, MD.
Agenda
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June 6 2026
6:45 am Registration, Breakfast, & Exhibit Hall
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8:00 am Welcome and Opening Remarks
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8:10 am Frank R. Ercoli, M.D. Memorial Lecture by
Henri Colt, M.D., FCCP, FAWM
Modigliani, Art and the Human Condition: Reflections on Critical Care & Suicide
9:00 am Steven Hollenberg, M.D.
The Right Ventricle is No Longer Forgotten: Now it's Misunderstood
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10:00 am Break & Exhibit Hall
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10:15 am Hassan Bencheqroun, M.D., FCCP
AI in the ICU: What Every Critical Care Provider Needs to Know
11:15 am John Woods, D.O., FACS
Management of Blunt Cardiovascular Injuries
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12:15 pm Lunch & Exhibit Hall
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1:30 pm Steven Hollenberg, M.D.
Fluids or Diuretics? Assessing Fluid Responsiveness
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2:30 pm Ara Chrissian, M.D.
Approach to Initiating Mechanical Ventilation
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3:30 pm Paul Wisniewski, D.O.
Optimizing Trauma and Critical Care in Resource Limited Settings:
Strategies for Efficiency and Outcome
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4:30 pm Adjourn
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Classic Club
75-200 Classic Club Drive
Palm Desert, CA
