The Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Track will offer two days of dedicated programming on pediatric and adult cellular and gene therapies to keep nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other providers up to date on the latest developments in the field on Thursday and Friday, Feb. 5-6, during the 2026 Tandem Meetings | Transplantation & Cellular Therapy Meetings of ASTCT^® and CIBMTR^®.

“Every year we like to offer something new and groundbreaking,” said Track Chair Chelsea Honstain, NP, an advanced practice nurse at University of Michigan Health. “I think the field of bone marrow transplant (BMT) and cellular therapy, in particular, is witnessing medicine at its most innovative state. It’s science at its best, and it’s moving quickly.” 

Clinician and researcher Stephen Gottschalk, MD, chair of the Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy at St. Jude’s Research Hospital, will kick off the agenda with a look at the Future of Cell Therapy on Thursday, Feb. 5. This and other Day 1 programming is tailored to providers who treat patients of all ages. Another of the day’s highlight sessions is Emerging Therapies and Preventive Strategies for GVHD, which will explore new treatments in graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and acute lung injury following BMT. (The full APP Track agenda appears at the end of this article.)

The second day of programming offers attendees the choice of concurrent sessions throughout the day. In response to participant feedback from previous years, track planners have aligned sessions on Friday, Feb. 6, so attendees can learn about a given topic specific to the age of patients they treat. 

“Day 2 is really important because pediatric patients are not little adults, and the diseases that we’re treating them for are very different from the diseases we’re treating in adults when it comes to cellular therapy,” Honstain said. 

She noted that attendees can alternate between pediatric and adult sessions, a programming choice designed to reflect the overlap of what a clinician would see in practice.

“You’re often caring for adolescent young adults who might be experiencing some of the overlap conditions or toxicities that would be seen in the adult population — and vice versa, you might have a patient who was treated for pediatric disease that you’re then seeing for either a second malignancy or a disease recurrence as an adult,” Honstain said. 

Highlights from the adult offerings include Transplant and the Microbiome, Cardiotoxicity and CART for Autoimmune Disease.

Highlights from the pediatric offerings include CART for Malignant Brain Tumors, Updates in Pediatric CART & NK Cell and Allo CART. 

The pediatric session on allogeneic (allo) CAR-T therapy features one of the topics being addressed in the APP Track for the first time. 

“Allogeneic CAR T, especially with the ‘off-the-shelf’ products, is an exciting area of research as we look ahead to faster manufacturing time and broader patient access,” Honstain said. 

The second day will close with a session exploring the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare. Honstain said each of the three speakers in Adult & Pediatric Session: Use of AI in BMT will bring a unique perspective on how AI affects their day-to-day operations, whether that is in direct patient care or research. 

Honstain advises new and returning attendees to take part in the Track Reception following the educational sessions.

“I think 50% of a conference of this magnitude is knowledge gain, and 50% is the ability to network with colleagues across the country,” she said. 

Honstain also encourages those who are interested in getting more involved in the APP special interest group to attend the SIG Updates and Awards, which will include highlights about APP subcommittees and discussions about opportunities for involvement. 

APP Track Agenda

The most up-to-date APP Track agenda and the full 2026 Tandem Meetings program are available on the online program. All APP Track sessions take place in Room 251 A-F of the Salt Palace Convention Center, unless noted otherwise. All times are Mountain Standard Time.

Thursday, Feb. 5

• 8:00 – 8:45 a.m. – APP SIG Updates & Awards
• 8:45 – 9:30 a.m. – Future of Cell Therapy
• 9:30 – 10:00 a.m. – Post CART: MAS, HLH, Refractory CRS/ICANs
• 10:00 – 10:30 a.m. – Morning Break – Day 1, Exhibit Hall
• 10:30 – 11:15 a.m. – IPS/Acute Lung Injury
• 11:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Emerging Therapies and Preventive Strategies for GVHD
• 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. – Lunch – Day 1, Exhibit Hall
• 1:00 – 1:45 p.m. – Best Abstracts Session
• 1:45 – 2:15 p.m. – Cytopenias Post Transplant
• 2:15 – 3:00 p.m. – Patient Experience Panel
• 3:00 – 3:15 p.m. – Afternoon Break, Day 1, Hall 1
• 3:15 – 4:00 p.m. – Gene Therapy for Benign Heme: Updates
• 4:00 – 4:30 p.m. – Managing PTCy Toxicities
• 4:30 – 5:00 p.m. – Refractory Viremia: Use of CTL

Friday, Feb. 6

• 8:00 – 8:45 a.m. – Adult Session: Transplant and the Microbiome
• 8:00 – 8:45 a.m. – Pediatric Session: Secondary HLH: Infectious Triggers, Room 254 A-C
• 8:45 – 9:30 a.m. – Adult Session: cGVHD Current & Novel Therapeutics
• 8:45 – 9:30 a.m. – Pediatric Session: Aplastic Anemia & BMT: Where We Stand, Room 254 A-C
• 9:30 – 10:00 a.m. – Adult Session: Cardiotoxicity
• 9:30 – 10:00 a.m. – Pediatric Session: TMA, Room 254 A-C
• 10:00 – 10:30 a.m. – Morning Break – Day 2, Exhibit Hall
• 10:30 – 11:15 a.m. – Adult Session: CART for Autoimmune Disease
• 10:30 – 11:15 a.m. – Pediatric Session: Gene Therapy for Bone Marrow Failure Diseases, Room 254 A-C
• 11:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Adult Session: Multiple Myeloma Overview
• 11:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Pediatric Session: CART for Malignant Brain Tumors, Room 254 A-C
• 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. – Lunch – Day 2, Exhibit Hall
• 1:00 – 1:45 p.m. – Adult Session: Hereditary Heme Malignancies
• 1:00 – 1:45 p.m. – Pediatric Session: Updates in Pediatric CART & NK Cell, Room 254 A-C
• 1:45 – 2:30 p.m. – Adult Session: Updates in AML: Current and Emerging Therapies
• 1:45 – 2:30 p.m. – Pediatric Session: Alternative Donor Transplant for Heme Malignancy, Room 254 A-C
• 2:30 – 3:00 p.m. – Adult Session: Myeloma Toxicities: Case Study Series
• 2:30 – 3:00 p.m. – Pediatric Session: Depression, Stress Biology & Transplant Outcomes, Room 254 A-C
• 3:00 – 3:15 p.m. – Afternoon Break – Day 2, Hall 1
• 3:15 – 4:00 p.m. – Adult Session: Survivorship
• 3:15 – 4:00 p.m. – Pediatric Session: Allo CART, Room 254 A-C
• 4:00 – 4:45 p.m. – Adult & Pediatric Session: Use of AI in BMT
• 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. – Track Reception, Hall 1