Meeting Overview

We are excited to host a Histio Patient and Family Regional Meeting on Saturday, September 7th in Birmingham, Alabama.  

The agenda includes talks covering all histiocytic disorders, information on clinical trials and registries, emotional support, well-being, and diagnosing histiocytosis.  

Open to all impacted by a histiocytic disorder. Medical professionals are welcome to attend all talks.

You’ll learn directly from leaders in histiocytosis care and research on each of the histiocytic disorders in both children and adults, including:

• Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) 
• Hemophagocytic syndromes (HLH/MAS) 
• Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) 
• Rosai Dorfman disease (RDD) 
• Xanthogranuloma (JXG/XG)

 It's FREE to attend however registration is required for each participant. 

(**Once registration is completed you will receive information and directions to the meeting location). 

Guest Speakers

Randall Cron, MD – University of Alabama at Birmingham 
Dr. Cron is a Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the Arthritis Foundation, Alabama chapter endowed chair in Pediatric Rheumatology. He is the Director of the division of Pediatric Rheumatology and the Pediatric Rheumatology fellowship program at Children's of Alabama. Cron received his medical degree from UCLA and a doctorate in Immunology from the University of Chicago, with Pediatric residency training at Stanford Children’s Hospital in California and Pediatric Rheumatology fellowship training at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Seattle.

His major research interests include: dysregulation of CD154 in systemic lupus erythematosus; CD4 T cell host factor regulation of HIV-1 LTR transcriptional activity and latency; genetic mutations leading to defective lymphocyte cytolytic activity; diagnosis and treatment of temporomandibular joint arthritis in childhood arthritis, and the diagnosis and treatment of macrophage activation syndrome.

Gaurav Goyal, MD – University of Alabama at Birmingham
During his fellowship, Dr. Goyal developed a unique focus in histiocytic disorders, including Erdheim-Chester disease, Langerhans cell histiocytosis, and Rosai-Dorfman disease. He conducted multiple studies describing the epidemiology, treatments, and outcomes of patients with histiocytosis and led to the establishment of first of its kind multidisciplinary Histiocytosis Working Group. He has led national and international guidelines on the diagnosis and management of these rare disease entities. He was subsequently recruited to join the Hematology-Oncology division at University of Alabama at Birmingham as an Assistant Professor in 2019. 

Dr. Goyal established the histiocytosis program after moving to UAB and expanded the Histiocytosis Working Group to include members from UAB. He continues to conduct clinical, translational, and outcomes research in histiocytosis at his current position. He has additionally developed special interest in survivorship research with ongoing projects evaluating burden of morbidity and mortality among individuals with histiocytic disorders. 

Aishwarya Ravindran, MD – University of Alabama at Birmingham
Dr. Ravindran is a consultant Hematopathologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and an Associate Scientist in Cancer Control and Population Science at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB. She received her MBBS from Stanley Medical College in India. Subsequently, she pursued her research fellowship in Hematology, followed by a residency in Anatomic/Clinical Pathology and a fellowship in Hematopathology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. While training at the Mayo Clinic, she developed a special interest in studying rare diseases, specifically histiocytic/dendritic cell neoplasms. Her research analyzes the phenotypic and genotypic correlates in these neoplasms and integration into clinical practice. She has published numerous peer-reviewed scientific articles and was also a recipient of the Mayo Clinic Dr. Hobart K.B. Allebach Fellowship award and the American Society of Clinical Pathology- 40 under forty honoree for outstanding contributions to the field of pathology. As an active member of the multidisciplinary Mayo Clinic - UAB Histiocytosis Working Group, she aims to improve awareness about these rare disorders.

Travel Scholarships Available - Limited Quantity

We are delighted to be able to offer a limited number of travel scholarships to patients/caregivers to help offset the cost of travel to attend the conference in person.

The travel scholarship is meant for those individuals who would not be able to cover the cost of their travel and participation fully. Assistance is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. To be eligible to receive travel assistance, please complete and submit the Travel Scholarship Application no later than Friday, August 23rd. Please note that due to limited funds, all requests may not be approved.

Scholarship decisions will be announced by Wednesday, August 28th.

With Gratitude For Our Sponsors

2024 Regional Meetings Presenting Sponsor

**** If you run into any challenges with registering for the event, please email us at outreach@histio.org for assistance. We look forward to seeing you in Birmingham!