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Conference News Business Management The American Society of Echocardiography

ASE Plenary: Progress, Priorities, and What’s Next

Efforts to align, sustain, and engage drove a year of growth for ASE.

Conexiant

The American Society of Echocardiography showcased a year of organizational growth, strategic collaboration, and advocacy at its 2026 Scientific Sessions plenary session, where President David Wiener, MD, FASE, reflected on the Society’s accomplishments and discussed initiatives that will shape its future direction.

During his plenary address in Aurora, Colorado, Dr. Wiener framed the efforts of his American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) presidency around three guiding objectives: align, sustain, and engage.

To improve alignment across the field, Dr. Wiener led the Intersocietal Leadership Group and expanded collaborations across education, advocacy, patient engagement, certification, and guideline development through partnerships with professional societies and patient advocacy organizations. He also noted that the newly formed Sports Cardiology Society will partner with ASE on programming at ASE 2027 in Tampa, Florida.

Focusing on workforce sustainability, ASE completed and disseminated the results of its first workforce survey; expanded efforts to strengthen the sonographer pipeline; explored artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce reporting burdens; worked to identify ways to enhance professional satisfaction and recognize member contributions; and advocated on issues related to visas for international trainees, research funding, and prior authorization.

To further engage members, ASE launched a new Multimodality Imaging in Inflammatory Myocardial and Pericardial Disease Specialty Interest Group designed to bring together experts from cardiovascular imaging and related disciplines, such as rheumatology. The Society also established a task force focused on engaging cardiology fellows and cardiac ultrasound students—which will begin its work in July and was given dedicated space at the meeting to foster early connections—and expanded its Mentor Match program to handle more mentees and provide customized mentorship opportunities.

Beyond those three priorities, Dr. Wiener highlighted additional initiatives that have shaped the Society and its procedures, including a new framework for commissioning and prioritizing guidelines and efforts with partner organizations to address reimbursement challenges in interventional echocardiography.

Dr. Wiener celebrated several organizational milestones, including ASE’s membership growth to more than 21,500 members across 127 countries, making it the largest membership base in the Society’s history. He also announced a new agreement with Doximity to feature ASE guidelines on the company’s AI-powered information platform, which he shared with Conexiant would “highlight ASE’s position as the authoritative source for cardiac ultrasound to the over 80% of US physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants who are Doximity members.”

In an exclusive interview, Dr. Wiener said, “I am proud of the alignment ASE achieved this year with our colleagues in other professional societies and the resulting joint projects. By addressing workforce issues and granularly enhancing member engagement, ASE provided value to our members. ASE’s position as an imaging society is strong in its role as the convener of interdisciplinary multimodality imaging at a time of rapid growth in the rich information content of echocardiography, in harnessing the power of AI in imaging, and in serving as the ardent advocate and professional home for cardiac ultrasound.”

The plenary session also featured the 37th Annual Edler Lecture, delivered by Theodore Abraham, MD, FASE, immediate past president of ASE. His presentation, titled “From Hurricanes to Hypertrophy: Insights from Computational Flow Dynamics,” preceded the recognition of several leaders in the field.

ASE award recipients recognized during the plenary session included:

  • Mentorship Award: Vince Sorrell, MD, FASE

  • Meritorious Service Award: Merri Bremer, EdD, RN, ACS, RDCS, FASE

Additional Society honors that will be presented at the ASE Foundation Gala included:

  • Physician Lifetime Achievement Award: Sherif Nagueh, MD, FASE

  • Sonographer Lifetime Achievement Award: Ken Horton, ACS, RCS, FASE

  • Richard Popp Excellence in Teaching Award: Smadar Kort, MD, FASE

  • Circulation & Vascular Ultrasound Council Luminary Award: Bryan Wells, MD, FASE

  • Founders’ Award for Lifetime Achievement in Echocardiography for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease: Luc Mertens, MD, PhD, FASE

  • Outstanding Achievement in Perioperative Echocardiography Award: G. Burkhard Mackensen, MD, PhD, FASE

Several additional awards, grants, and scholarships were recognized by ASE and the ASE Foundation.

Looking ahead, Dr. Wiener introduced the Society’s incoming leadership, including Cynthia Taub, MD, MBA, FASE, who will assume the presidency in July. As he reflected on the year’s accomplishments, he described ASE as a “society with a soul,” citing its rich heritage, guiding principles, and volunteers and professional staff advancing the field through education, innovation, advocacy, and collaboration.

No disclosure information was provided.

Source: ASE 2026 Scientific Sessions / Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography