2026 Tandem Meetings Infectious Disease Track — Zoom-In With Zainab Shahid, MD

ASTCT’s Transplant Infectious Disease (ID) Special Interest Group (SIG) has curated a track of sessions at this year’s Tandem Meetings | Transplantation & Cellular Therapy Meetings of ASTCT® and CIBMTR®.  Sessions center around the latest in protecting immunocompromised patients receiving cellular therapies.

Zainab Shahid, MD, chair of the SIG, shares insights into the group's mission, themes, and “must-attends” of the 2026 sessions — and the importance of collaborative efforts to improve clinical outcomes.

ASTCT: Can you share the mission of the Infectious Disease (ID) Special Interest Group (SIG) within ASTCT? What does your role look like throughout the year, beyond the Tandem Meetings? 

Zainab Shahid, MD, MPH, FACP, FISA (ZS): The mission of the ASTCT ID Special Interest Group is closely aligned with the overarching mission of ASTCT — to improve the application and success of hematopoietic cell transplantation and cellular therapies — through an infectious diseases lens. The ID SIG is dedicated to advancing research, education, and clinical practice focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and management of infections in transplant and cellular therapy recipients. Our overarching goal is to improve infection-related outcomes and patient safety in this highly immunocompromised population by integrating evolving science with real-world clinical needs.

Beyond the Tandem Meetings, the role of the ID SIG is active and longitudinal throughout the year. This includes identifying emerging infectious threats and knowledge gaps, developing educational programming and webinars, contributing to ASTCT-endorsed guidelines and consensus statements, fostering multicenter research collaborations, and partnering with other ASTCT committees and external organizations (e.g., CIBMTR, BMT CTN, public health agencies). The SIG also serves as a forum for ongoing dialogue among clinicians, investigators, and trainees, ensuring that infectious disease considerations remain embedded in the rapidly evolving landscape of cellular therapy.

ASTCT: What were the key goals or themes that guided the selection of this year’s ID Track sessions?

ZS: This year’s ID Track was intentionally designed as a forward-facing program that both reflects recent advances and anticipates emerging challenges in transplant and cellular therapy infectious diseases. A central goal was to educate both faculty and attendees on how the evolving therapeutic landscape is reshaping infection risk, immune dysregulation, and clinical decision-making. The program spans from topics like advances in graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis and their downstream infectious implications, to innovations in diagnostics, imaging, and prevention strategies, including vaccines. We deliberately balanced mechanistic and translational science with pragmatic, case-based discussions to ensure relevance across disciplines and practice settings. 

ASTCT: Which session are you personally most excited about? And which one do you think is a “must-attend” for professionals?

ZS: All the sessions are packed with exciting information. Each session in this year’s ID Track was curated to address a critical aspect of practice, so it’s genuinely difficult to single out just one favorite. That said, I am particularly excited about our opening session, which focuses on emerging graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis strategies and their downstream implications for infection risk and vaccination, topics that are directly influencing day-to-day clinical decision-making across transplant and cellular therapy programs.

I would also highlight our closing session on future directions in transplant and cellular therapy infectious diseases as a “must-attend.” This session is designed to reflect on present-day advances and challenges and force attendees to think proactively about how evolving therapies, diagnostics, and immune-modulating strategies will reshape our field over the next several years.

Finally, our interactive sessions — ID Jeopardy and the Challenging Cases discussions, are house favorites. These sessions consistently resonate with attendees because they translate complex science into practical, real-world scenarios while fostering audience engagement, debate, and shared learning across disciplines.

ASTCT: What advice would you give Tandem Meetings attendees to get the most value from the sessions — whether in the ID Track or overall?

ZS: I would encourage our attendees to engage with the content, ask follow-up questions, and interact with the presenters and faculty. I would encourage them to attend the ID poster sessions as well. This will help them to develop a deeper understanding of the content and breadth of the knowledge shared by the SIG as Tandem. I also encourage attendees to spend time at the ID poster sessions. These sessions showcase the breadth and depth of work being done across the field, highlight new investigators and innovative ideas, and provide early insights into where the science and clinical practice are heading.

ASTCT: Will any of this year’s session content connect to new initiatives the ID SIG is planning for 2026?

ZS: In 2026, the ID SIG plans to broaden its educational footprint and deepen member engagement through year-round programming. In parallel, we are exploring the development of a collaborative research platform within the SIG to facilitate multicenter clinical research studies, data sharing, and hypothesis generation. To support these efforts, we envision building a structured infrastructure of focused subcommittees composed of SIG members, allowing individuals to contribute based on their expertise and interests. Together, these initiatives will help translate the scientific and clinical insights highlighted in this year’s sessions into sustained education, collaboration, and impact across the ASTCT community.

ASTCT: The ID Track Reception is scheduled for Wednesday evening, Feb. 4. What can attendees expect, and why should they make time to attend?

ZS: The ID Track Reception on Wednesday evening, Feb. 4, is designed as an opportunity to bring the ID SIG community together in a relaxed and welcoming setting. Attendees can expect to meet fellow SIG members, engage directly with track faculty and the steering committee, and continue conversations sparked during the day’s sessions. A key goal of the reception is to foster meaningful connections across career stages. We are especially eager to engage trainees and junior faculty, providing a space to network, exchange ideas, and connect with mentors and collaborators within the field.