Pediatricians Head to San Diego as AAP Puts Doctor Influencers on Center Stage

The American Academy of Pediatrics will bring its annual National Conference & Exhibition to San Diego for the first time in more than a decade, convening from October 2 through October 6, 2026, at a moment when the battle over children’s health information is being fought as much on smartphones as in examination rooms. The meeting, which has drawn more than 10,700 registered attendees, promises the latest research, education and advocacy programming in pediatric medicine, but its most closely watched sessions may be those that address a phenomenon the profession can no longer ignore: the rise of the pediatrician influencer.

The conference’s opening session on Saturday, October 3, will pair AAP President Andrew Racine, MD, PhD, FAAP, with a keynote speaker whose reach dwarfs that of most medical journals. Mikhail Varshavski, D.O., known to his audience of more than 30 million people as “Doctor Mike,” has built one of the largest physician-led platforms on social media, using short-form video and long-form commentary to counter medical misinformation. His presence at the podium signals a deliberate strategic choice by the Academy: rather than treating viral health content as a rival to clinical authority, the organization is bringing its most successful practitioners of that medium inside the tent.

That theme continues in a panel discussion featuring pediatricians who have cultivated substantial followings across different platforms, including Tommy Martin, MD, FAAP; Ari Brown, MD, FAAP; and Leah Rappaport, MD, FAAP. Paul Tran, MD, FAAP will moderate an audience-driven discussion and question-and-answer session, with the panelists available to take questions from both attendees and the media. According to the Academy, the panel is designed to provide practical guidance for physicians who want to communicate more effectively with families, covering how health messaging must be adapted to the distinct formats, algorithms and audience expectations of different social media platforms.

The underlying problem these sessions address is well documented in the communication research literature. Health misinformation spreads faster and farther on social networks than corrective content, in part because false or emotionally charged claims generate more engagement than nuanced clinical guidance. Parents searching for answers about vaccines, nutrition, screen time, sleep safety or developmental concerns frequently encounter content produced by non-experts before they encounter advice from credentialed clinicians. Pediatricians who build authentic followings occupy a rare position in that ecosystem: they combine formal medical training with the fluency in platform conventions that determines whether content is seen at all.

Elizabeth Murray, DO, FAAP, who chairs the AAP national conference steering committee, framed the meeting’s communication focus as an extension of pediatricians’ core professional duties rather than a departure from them. “Today, more than ever, it’s important to provide clear, accurate health information in our roles as pediatricians, family partners and patient advocates,” Murray said in the Academy’s announcement. “We look forward to learning and sharing our best guidance for caring for families and for each other.” The remark captures the dual mandate that has come to define contemporary pediatric practice: delivering evidence-based care in the clinic while also meeting families in the digital spaces where their health questions actually arise.

Beyond its communication programming, the conference functions as the Academy’s principal annual vehicle for disseminating new pediatric research and continuing education. The scientific program spans a wide range of pediatric topics, with sessions presented both in person and through a virtual poster hall, alongside a comprehensive library of on-demand sessions that extends access to attendees who cannot travel or who wish to revisit material after the live meeting. Abstracts scheduled for presentation at the conference will be published on the conference website at 6 a.m. PDT on Friday, October 2, giving journalists and researchers a structured preview of the findings to be discussed. Embargoed news releases will be available through EurekAlert! and on request, following the embargo conventions that govern major biomedical meetings.

The meeting’s format reflects broader trends in how large medical societies structure their flagship events. Hybrid delivery, combining in-person attendance with livestreamed and on-demand content, has become standard practice since the pandemic reshaped expectations for professional conferences. For an organization representing 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists, the hybrid model serves a practical purpose: pediatricians practice in settings ranging from academic medical centers to small community clinics, and continuing education must reach all of them. The on-demand library in particular allows time-pressed clinicians to engage with research presentations on their own schedules, an accessibility consideration that increasingly determines the reach of scientific meetings.

The San Diego program also extends beyond the convention hall into community engagement, a longstanding feature of AAP national meetings. On Friday, October 3, beginning at 9:30 a.m., pediatricians will join “I Love a Clean San Diego,” an environmental organization that has worked to keep the city clean since 1954, for a beach clean-up at Fiesta Island. Shuttles will transport volunteers to the island for the outdoor event, which will include a game of Trash Bingo, and the collected trash will be weighed at the end to quantify the group’s impact. The activity pairs the conference’s scientific agenda with a visible demonstration of the environmental health concerns, from pollution to climate exposure, that pediatricians increasingly address as part of child well-being.

Physical activity gets its own showcase on Monday, October 5, when the annual AAP Friends of Children Fund 5K Fun Run & Walk takes participants along the historic boardwalk bordering San Diego Bay. The run begins at Marina Terrace at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina, with a warm-up at 6:45 a.m. PDT and the event running from 7 to 9 a.m. Such events serve a dual function at medical conferences: they raise money for the Academy’s Friends of Children Fund, which supports child health initiatives, and they model the kind of healthy behavior that pediatricians counsel families to adopt. For an organization dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults, the symbolism of thousands of physicians running together along the waterfront is not incidental.

For journalists, the Academy has established clear access procedures for the meeting. Reporters planning to attend in person or virtually must review the AAP Media Guidelines and seek credentials in advance of the conference, with press credentials also required for the Fiesta Island clean-up. Media inquiries can be directed to Lisa Robinson at lrobinson@aap.org or Alex Hulvalchick at ahulvalchick@aap.org. Conference information, including the full program, is available on the AAP Experience website. As the meeting opens, the Academy’s bet is that the credibility of pediatric medicine, accumulated over decades of clinical practice and research, can be extended into the attention economy, one carefully crafted post, panel and keynote at a time.

Subject of Research: Pediatric medical communication and social media engagement at the American Academy of Pediatrics annual conference

Article Title: American Academy of Pediatrics hosts national conference in San Diego, welcomes pediatrician influencers

Article References: American Academy of Pediatrics hosts national conference in San Diego, welcomes pediatrician influencers. (n.d.). Original publication

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Keywords: American Academy of Pediatrics, pediatrics, medical conference, Doctor Mike, health misinformation, social media, physician influencers, San Diego, medical education, child health, science communication, continuing medical education