The inaugural Joint MAD-ID/SIDP Annual Meeting was a celebration of learning and networking and focused on the educational needs of infectious diseases pharmacist specialists.
The inaugural joint annual meeting between Making a Difference in Infectious Diseases (MAD-ID) and the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP) held on May 14 to 17, 2026, in Orlando, Florida, was a celebration of learning and networking that brought together more than 700 pharmacists, physicians, microbiologists, nurses, trainees, researchers, and health care leaders from across the globe. The meeting provided extensive continuing education opportunities including over 18 hours of CE/CME and more than 11 hours of BCIDP credit, demonstrating significant focus of the organizations on the educational needs of infectious diseases pharmacist specialists including those who are board-certified.
Across a diverse program that addressed antimicrobial resistance and rapid diagnostics to pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) optimization, implementation barriers, workforce sustainability, and emerging technologies, the meeting content reinforced a central theme that surfaced repeatedly throughout the program: the future of infectious diseases care will depend on the ability of health care professionals and systems to operationalize innovation through communication and multidisciplinary collaboration.
The 2026 meeting marked a pivotal milestone for the broader infectious diseases community and underscores a defining shift where collaboration, implementation science, precision therapeutics, and diagnostic integration are increasingly shaping how health care systems respond to growing clinical complexity and antimicrobial resistance challenges. Designed around a philosophy of shared learning, the conference created opportunities for pharmacists, physicians, microbiologists, researchers, trainees, and other healthcare professionals to engage collectively in intentional conversations to advance modern infectious diseases care through innovation and partnership.
Collaboration and idea sharing to promote innovation were prevalent throughout the conference. These concepts were present in half-day premeeting workshops promoting optimization of care for patients requiring outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy and those living with HIV, classroom sessions focused on implementing urinary breakpoints and enhancing sustainability through antimicrobial stewardship initiatives, a scientific poster session and oral abstract presentations to share late-breaking research, and plenary sessions highlighting complex patient care issues such as the patient perspective of antifungal treatment and real-world examples of collaborative efforts between stewardship and microbiology teams to improve the use of diagnostic testing and antimicrobial therapy. There were several themes and key takeaways that emerged throughout the conference.
The growing global threat of antimicrobial resistance remained a consistent backdrop throughout the meeting. Karen Bush, PhD, whose research and career were responsible for the development of modern beta-lactams agents (eg, aztreonam, ceftobiprole, and piperacillin/tazobactam), provided the keynote address on the history and evolution of beta-lactamase enzymes and how we might address the growing concerns of gram-negative resistance through novel drug discovery. Additional speakers addressed emerging treatment strategies to combat complex resistance mechanisms, highlighted the management of drug-resistant tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacteria infections, and the increasing complexities of selecting appropriate therapies when balancing patient and social factors in addition to challenging resistance profiles.
Advanced PK/PD principles also remained a foundational component throughout the conference. Sessions highlighted PK/PD challenges in treating resistant gram-negative infections, individualized dosing and monitoring strategies, optimization of inhaled antibiotics, and combination therapy approaches. Presenters explored how PK/PD modeling continues shaping future antimicrobial development and therapeutic optimization strategies, emphasizing that modern antimicrobial management increasingly requires clinicians to synthesize microbiology, patient-specific variables, tissue penetration considerations, and evolving resistance mechanisms simultaneously.
One of the strongest themes throughout the meeting involved investment in trainees and early-career professionals, including pharmacy residents, post-doctoral research fellows and students. The MAD-ID/SIDP conference featured extensive opportunities for trainee research presentation, mentorship, networking, travel support, and direct engagement with national infectious diseases leaders.
The energy surrounding trainee participation became one of the defining strengths of the meeting itself, starting with the trainee pre-meeting session which included a PGY2 Infectious Diseases residency town hall and round-table discussions. These were led by MAD-ID board member and Wayne State University College of Pharmacy dean, Susan Davis, PharmD, FIDP; and Julie Dagam, BPharm, PharmD, of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, who currently serves as the director of credentialing.
Attendees noted the value of creating intentional space where learners could network with both peers and thought leaders, actively contributing to professional development, and have discussions and propose solutions to issues directly influencing their training. As health care systems continue advancing in complexity and the demands of infectious diseases-trained pharmacists continue expanding, the development of highly skilled and adaptable clinicians and leaders remains essential to the long-term sustainability of the field.
Another notable theme emerging from the meeting was the increasing creativity and diversification of stewardship strategies. Educational sessions highlighted stewardship initiatives involving nursing engagement, gamification, technology-enabled education, environmental sustainability considerations, toxicity prediction strategies, and multidisciplinary implementation models. These conversations illustrated how stewardship programs are evolving into collaborative and behaviorally informed initiatives that extend across multiple aspects of patient care and healthcare operations.
One of the clearest takeaways from the meeting was the continued growth of health-systems and adaption of hospital-based antimicrobial stewardship programs into broader, health-system–focused programs. Sessions throughout the conference emphasized health systems’ growing influence across operational workflows, preferred strategy, quality metrics, diagnostic stewardship integration, and patient safety initiatives. Many discussions focused on sustainability and the ways stewardship programs can continue demonstrating measurable value in increasingly resource-conscious health care environments.
Rapid diagnostic technologies and technology-enabled clinical decision support emerged as some of the most transformative forces discussed throughout the meeting. Sessions explored how stewardship teams, microbiology laboratories, pharmacists, and clinicians are increasingly functioning as integrated partners in real-time clinical decision-making. During the interactive classroom sessions, attendees had the hands-on opportunity to discuss the growing intersection between diagnostics, stewardship, informatics, and workflow integration as healthcare systems continue pursuing faster, more targeted, and more individualized infectious diseases management strategies.
Erin McCreary, PharmD, BCIDP, and Christopher D. Doern, PhD, delivered an engaging plenary discussion with practical examples and tools for front-line clinicians looking to enhance communication and patient care through better microbiology and stewardship team collaboration. Examples of susceptibility cascading versus suppression, helpful microbiology nudges, and how to curb procalcitonin testing provided thoughtful discussions and meaningful takeaways.
Lisa Dumkow, PharmD, BCIDP, FIDP, is the president of the Society of Infectious Disease Pharmacists (SIDP).
Michael J. Rybak, PharmD, MPH, PhD, is the president of Making a Difference in Infectious Diseases.
Theresa Ferguson is the communications director for SIDP.
Perhaps the most important conclusion from the 2026 Joint MAD-ID/SIDP Annual Meeting was the enduring value of collaborative approaches to infectious diseases care. As health care systems continue navigating evolving resistance threats, diagnostic advancements, operational pressures, and workforce challenges, the meeting highlighted the growing importance of multidisciplinary collaboration, adaptability, and the ability to translate innovation into meaningful output. By bringing together the strengths of MAD-ID and SIDP into a single educational experience, the conference demonstrated how collaboration can elevate scientific discussion, strengthen professional relationships, expand educational value, and advance patient care.
The success of this inaugural joint annual meeting suggests this collaboration helps shape a new model for infectious diseases education and professional engagement moving forward. We look forward to continuing this collaboration and momentum as we jointly launch a new conference, the 2027 Antimicrobials Conference, taking place in Baltimore, Maryland, May 22 through 26.
