The ATS 2025 International Conference will kick off with an inspiring Opening Ceremony inside San Francisco’s Moscone Center on Saturday, May 17, from 4:30 – 5:30 pm PT, featuring keynote speaker Kimberly D. Manning, MD, MACP, a trailblazing physician, educator, and storyteller whose impact transcends beyond the fields of medicine.

Renowned for her innovative and mission-driven approach to medical education, Dr. Manning has been nationally recognized for her mentorship and teaching, as well as her writing and public speaking. She was awarded the ACGME Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award in 2018, received the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Association of Black Women Physicians, and the 2022 AAMC Group on Diversity and Inclusion Exemplary Leadership Award (alongside her mentor, Jada Bussey-Jones, MD, FACP). As a professor at Emory University, she has received the highest teaching awards in the School of Medicine, Grady Hospital, and Emory’s Internal Medicine Residency Program.

In addition to these professional achievements, Dr. Manning has garnered acclaim for her multimedia storytelling, focusing on the unique and vital interpersonal relationships engendered between patients and providers via her blog, social media presence, and The Human Doctor podcast. She has also written for esteemed journals like JAMA and The Lancet.

“I realized that I should start telling the stories that I didn’t see written anywhere else and apply my lived experience and unique perspective to help people see things a little bit differently,” Dr. Manning said.

Her academic interests also extend to fostering humanistic behaviors and professionalism in medical students and residents. Her work is poignantly personal, reflecting her experiences as a Black woman, mother, wife, and advocate for equity and excellence in health care. Blending personal insight, professional expertise, and compelling calls to action, Dr. Manning will utilize the power of narrative storytelling to remind ATS 2025 attendees of the part health specialists play in working towards a more inclusive and compassionate future.

“This job is challenging, so the ability to apply what I’ve learned or teach something that can directly improve a person’s life motivates me to keep going,” she said. “At the end of the day, everything we do is about helping somebody’s loved one and a fellow person.”  

The Opening Ceremony is free for all registered attendees, offering an early opportunity at ATS 2025 to connect with peers and be inspired by one of medicine’s most dynamic voices. Until then, follow Dr. Manning on X (@gradydoctor) and BlueSky (@gradydoctor.bsky.social) for a glimpse of what’s to come at the Opening Ceremony.

The ATS thanks Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for its support of the ATS 2025 Opening Ceremony.