Welcome to another edition of Countdown to 2026, and thank you for visiting the Contemporary Pediatrics website throughout 2025. Below, take a look at the top pediatric conferences of 2025, and catch up on anything you may have missed.

The American Academy of Pediatrics 2025 National Conference & Exhibition

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) launched its 2025 National Conference & Exhibition on September 26, 2025, at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, marking the first time the annual meeting has been held in the city. The 5-day conference ran through September 30 and brought together more than 10,000 pediatric health care professionals from 71 countries for education, collaboration, and professional development focused on advancing child health.

The meeting featured more than 260 educational sessions spanning core and emerging topics in pediatrics, including artificial intelligence in clinical practice, pediatric mental health and social media, special education needs, chronic disease management, nutrition, and health equity. Opening remarks from AAP President Susan Kressly, MD, FAAP, addressed systemic challenges facing pediatric care, while keynote speaker Will Flanary, MD (Dr. Glaucomflecken), highlighted clinician burnout and health system pressures through a blend of humor and personal experience.

2025 Pediatric Academic Societies meeting

The 2025 Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, showcased new research and clinical insights across pediatric medicine, with hundreds of sessions, abstracts, and expert discussions highlighting emerging evidence and practice-changing trends. Coverage by Contemporary Pediatrics focused on infectious diseases, neonatal care, adolescent health, chronic disease risk, and health equity.

Key findings included links between early-life antibiotic exposure and higher childhood BMI, promising biomarker and pharmacokinetic data for pegtarazimod in neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, and improved maternal and neonatal outcomes associated with buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder in pregnancy. Additional research highlighted increased cardiovascular risk in youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities, the impact of firearm safety education on caregiver behavior, and rising mental health risks associated with adolescent cannabis use. Together, the data underscored the importance of evidence-based prescribing, early screening, preventive counseling, and equitable access to care to improve pediatric outcomes.

46th NAPNAP National Conference

The 46th National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) National Conference, held March 10–13, 2025, in Chicago, Illinois, convened pediatric nurse practitioners from across the country for education, collaboration, and professional development. The meeting featured a wide range of sessions focused on current clinical challenges, emerging research, and evolving practice standards in pediatric and adolescent care.

Conference programming highlighted priority topics such as mental and behavioral health, infectious diseases, health equity, chronic disease management, and advances in pediatric primary and specialty care. Educational sessions emphasized practical, evidence-based strategies designed to support pediatric nurse practitioners in delivering high-quality, patient-centered care across diverse clinical settings.

2025 IDWeek Annual Meeting

The 2025 IDWeek Annual Meeting, held in Atlanta, Georgia, highlighted key advances in infectious disease research, clinical care, and public health, with a strong focus on antimicrobial innovation, vaccine strategy, and evolving clinician–patient trust. Data presented included high cure rates with the investigational single-dose oral antibiotic zoliflodacin for uncomplicated gonorrhea, emerging evidence supporting the safety and immunogenicity of maternal and infant RSV immunization strategies, and growing applications of artificial intelligence to streamline infectious disease workflows.

Across sessions and expert interviews, presenters emphasized the need for novel oral therapies to address antimicrobial resistance, transparent and relationship-centered communication to rebuild public trust in medicine, and practical integration of AI as an “augmented intelligence” tool to support clinical decision-making. Together, findings from IDWeek 2025 underscored continued progress in infectious disease prevention and treatment, while highlighting the importance of innovation, adaptability, and patient-centered approaches in modern practice.