Isabella Annesi-Maesano

Institution:
National Institute of Health and Medical Research, Desbrest Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health, Montpellier, France

Isabella Annesi-Maesano, Research Director at the French NIH (INSERM) and Professor of Environmental Epidemiology, is Deputy Director of the Desbrest Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health, a mixed INSERM and Montpellier University research unit.

Her main research works include the explanation of the etiopathogenesis of major allergic and respiratory diseases and related comorbidities through an exposomic approach in patients and general population samples in the frame of international research collaborations and projects including various funded by the EC. In the field of the exposome she has coordinated the EU FP7 ENV HEALS project that is still ongoing.

Prof. Annesi-Maesano has served and actually serves, with leadership positions, numerous international medical societies in the field of allergic and respiratory diseases (namely ERS, ATS, WAO, EAACI, Union) contributing to their Position Papers on indoor and outdoor air pollution, climate change and biodiversity.

She is President (French IRD) or member (ERS Ethic and deontology Com, Ethical Advisory Board of DARWIN EU® Coordination Centre (CC), French CPP Enda) of three Ethical Committees

She is Section Editor of the Eur Respir J and the Intern J of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease. She is also Associate Editor of other eight journals, and has over 800 publications (including two books of Respiratory Epidemiology and the Respiratory Medicine Encyclopedia).

Prof. Annesi-Maesano is a respiratory epidemiologist by training, initially educated in Physics (Rome) and Medicine (Paris).

Topic

Keynote Lecture: Air Pollution & Respiratory Health

Roland Buhl

Institution:
University Hospital Mainz, Germany

Roland Buhl is Professor of Medicine and Head of the Pulmonary Department at Mainz University Hospital. He qualified and received his doctorate from the University of Heidelberg and later trained in pulmonary medicine and allergology, first in Berlin and Frankfurt, and then at National Institutes of Health, USA, before receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Frankfurt.

Topic

Asthma

James Chalmers

Institution:
School of Medicine, University of Dundee, UK

Professor James Chalmers is the Asthma and Lung UK Chair of Respiratory Research at the School of Medicine, University of Dundee in Scotland.

Topic

Hot Topic: Bronchiectasis

Stephen Durham

Institution:
National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, UK

Stephen Durham is Head of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London and Professor of Allergy and Respiratory Medicine at Royal Brompton Hospital.

His clinical practice includes asthma, rhinitis, immunotherapy, general allergy and food and drug allergy. His research interests include basic mechanisms of allergic rhinitis and asthma and he has a particular focus on translational studies of allergen immunotherapy. He has over 400 publications and a current H index of 64. He is Past President of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Head of the Allergy Consortium of the International Immune Tolerance NIAID USA and External Adviser to the NIH Inner City Asthma Consortium.

Topic

Allergy

David M. G. Halpin

Institution:
Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital, Exeter, UK

David Halpin is currently Consultant Physician & Honorary Associate Professor in Respiratory Medicine at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital. He is married with 2 daughters.

He trained at Oxford & St Thomas Hospital Medical School: completing a D.Phil. in the Department of Human Anatomy, Oxford, before finishing his clinical training at St Thomas. He completed his postgraduate training in respiratory medicine at the Brompton Hospital.
He is a Fellow of Royal College Physicians, Member British Thoracic Society, European Respiratory Society & American Thoracic Society.
He leads a busy clinical department, continues research in respiratory medicine & has published widely. He lectures frequently around the world on COPD. He is an Associate Editor of Thorax.
He was the Chairman and Clinical Expert for the COPD Guideline Development Group of the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the UK.
Since 2010 he has also been Respiratory Clinical Lead for the NHS in the South West.

Topic

COPD I

Felix Herth

Institution:
Department of Pneumology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany

Postgraduate Training:
1990 – 1996 Resident; Internal Medicine, Städt. Klinikum Karlsruhe
1996 – 1997 Resident; Dept. of Pulmonology,Thoraxklinik Heidelberg
1997 – 1999 Fellow; Dept. of interdisciplinary Endoscopy and Oncology, Thoraxklinik Heidelberg
1999 – 2003 Ass. Med. Director Dept. of Interdisciplinary Endoscopy and Oncology, Thoraxklinik Heidelberg
2003 Medical Director Experimental Endoscopy, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA

Current Position
Since 2004 Head of Department of Internal Medicine, Pulmonology and Critical Care Medicine Thoraxklinik Heidelberg

Speciality certification:
1997 German Board of Internal Medicine certified
1998 Pulmonary Mecidine certified
2000 Bachelor of Economic Health
2002 Professor of Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany
2006 Full Professor, University of Heidelberg, Germany

Major Committee Assignments:
2006 Vice-President of European Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology (EAB)
2009 European Health Leader
2012 Assembly secretary of the European Respiratory Society (ERS)
2012 President of European Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology (EAB)
2013 Editor in Chief Respiration

Professional Society
German Society of Pulmonology
European Respiratory Society
European Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology
American Association of Bronchology
World Association of Bronchology

Topic

Endoscopy

Marc Humbert

Institution:
University Paris-Saclay, Department of Pneumology, Hosptial Bicetre, Paris, France

Marc Humbert, MD, PhD, has been Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the South Paris University (Université Paris-Saclay) in Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France since 1999. He is also the current President of the ERS.

Topic

Pulmonary Vascular Diseases

Christoph Lange

Institution:
Medical Clinic Research Center Borstel and University of Lübeck, Germany

Christoph Lange is Professor of International Health / Infectious Diseases at the University of Lübeck, Head of Clinical Infectious Diseases and principle attending physician at the Medical Clinic of the Research Center Borstel, Germany and Head of the Clinical Tuberculosis Center at the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF).

He is Honorary Professor at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, the University of Namibia in Windhoek and the State University of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Republic of Moldova in Chisinau, where he travels regularly for teaching.

Topic

Tuberculosis & Emerging Infections

Walter McNicholas

Institution:
University College Dublin, St. Vincent’s Hospital Group, Dublin, Ireland

WALTER MCNICHOLAS is Newman Clinical Research Professor at University College Dublin (UCD) and Consultant in Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at St. Vincent’s Hospital Group, Dublin. He is current President of the European Sleep Research Society (ESRS) and a former President of the European Respiratory Society (ERS). He is a medical graduate of UCD and undertook his postgraduate training in Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at the University of Toronto. Walter is a Research Fellow at the UCD Conway Research Institute and is part of a multidisciplinary research group based in St. Vincent’s and the Conway Institute, which collaborates with other groups within UCD and throughout Europe. His research interests range from human clinical to basic cell and molecular biology, and include the pathophysiology, treatment and outcomes of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSA), the cardiovascular and metabolic consequences of the disorder, basic cell and molecular mechanisms and consequences of intermittent hypoxia, in addition to sleep disturbances in COPD and other chronic respiratory disorders. He is also closely involved in the evaluation of novel ambulatory monitoring devices for sleep disorders and is active in public health policy around driving risk in patients with OSA and sleepiness. He has supervised many PhD and other Doctoral research students over the past 30 years in his research laboratory at UCD and St. Vincent’s.

Walter is a past Associate Editor of the European Respiratory Journal and has published over 230 full papers in International Peer-reviewed Journals (h-index: 49 in Web of Science; 65 in Google Scholar). He serves on the Editorial Boards of several International Respiratory and Sleep Journals and is Associate or Section Editor in four journals. Walter has held many Leadership positions in National and International organisations. In addition to his current role as President of the European Sleep Research Society, he was President of the European Respiratory Society in 2003-2004 and President of the European Board of Accreditation in Pneumology from 2010-2014. He chaired an EU-sponsored COST Action (B26) on Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (2005-2010), and recently chaired a Working Group established by the Transport and Mobility Directorate of the European Commission on Sleep Apnoea and Driving (2012-2013), which led to an official EU Directive on this topic, issued in June 2014, that is now mandatory throughout all EU member states.

Topic

Sleep Disordered Breathing

Luca Richeldi

Institution:
University Hospital A. Gemelli, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy

Luca Richeldi is Professor of Respiratory Medicine and Director of the Pneumology Unit at the University Hospital A. Gemelli in Rome. He was Chair of Interstitial Lung Disease at the University of Southampton, UK until December 31, 2016. He has also been Associate Professor of Respiratory Medicine in the Department of Oncology, Hematology and Respiratory Diseases at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy.

Dr. Richeldi was also the Founder and Director of the Center for Rare Lung Diseases at the same university. From November 2005 to November 2008 he was the Director of the School of Specialization in Respiratory Medicine of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. From November 2012 he was the Deputy Dean for Education of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. He serves as associate editor for the European Respiratory Journal and is a member of the editorial board of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. He is a member of the Microbiology, Tuberculosis and Pulmonary Infections program committee of the American Thoracic Society (ATS). He has been part of the panels in charge of the production of the ATS-ERS guidelines on “Diagnosis of tuberculosis infection” and “Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis” and is a member and reviewer of the Cochrane Collaboration. Dr. Richeldi is a member of the Fleischner Society and has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers and contributed several chapters in scientific books.

Topic

Interstitial Lung Diseases I

Jo Szram

Institution:
National Heart & Lung Institute, Brompton, UK

Jo Szram is Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine, National Heart & Lung Institute, Royal Brompton Campus location.

Dr. Szram is Consultant Respiratory Physician (Occupational Lung Disease) at the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust. They run the largest and busiest department of its kind in Europe. The department holds regular external courses for occupational health practitioners, designed to assist management of all aspects of respiratory health in the workplace.

Her external roles include Clinical Advisor – Generalism, Lead Dean for Flexible portfolio training – Medical Education Reform Programme, Health Education England (HEE), RCP (London) elected Council member and Linacre Fellow, Associate Editor, Future Healthcare Journal, Member of the Group of Occupational Respiratory Disease Specialists (GORDS), working to align UK based occupational lung disease services with a focus on best practice and integrated care, and National Association of Clinical Tutors (NACT UK) Chair.

Her qualifications are MB, ChB (Cantab), MA, FRCP, MSc, FHEA, PhD, and PGDipULT (Medicine)

Topic

Hot Topic: Occupational Lung Disease

Johan Vansteenkiste

Institution:
University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Belgium

Johan Vansteenkiste is Professor of Internal Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, and Head of Clinic in the Respiratory Oncology Unit and its Clinical Trial Unit at the Leuven University Hospital, Belgium.

Professor Vansteenkiste studied Medicine at the Catholic University of Leuven before becoming a Board Certified Pulmonologist-Oncologist. He had additional training in Respiratory Oncology at the European School of Oncology in Milan, Italy, and in Respiratory Endoscopy at the Laser Centre in Marseille, France, before gaining his PhD at the Catholic University of Leuven in 1996. Professor Vansteenkiste is an active member of different national and international societies such as IASLC, ASCO, ESMO, ERS, and others. He is member of the Board of Directors of IASLC in 2009-2013 and member of the ESMO Lung Educational Group and Guidelines Group. He was Secretary of the Thoracic Oncology Assembly of the ERS and member of the ERS School Board from 2009-2012. He is the principal investigator or co-investigator in several clinical trials in the area of lung cancer. He is Associate Editor at the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, member of the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Oncology and several other journals, and author or co-author of more than 200 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters on Respiratory Oncology.

Topic

Oncology

Claus Vogelmeier

Institution:
University Medical Center Giessen and Philipps-University of Marburg, Germany

Claus F. Vogelmeier is Professor of Medicine and Head of the Department of Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University Medical Center Giessen and Marburg at the Philipps-University of Marburg, Germany. After qualifying in medicine from the University of Munich, Dr. Vogelmeier started his professional career at the Hospital of the University of Munich.

He is board certified in Internal Medicine, in Pulmonary Medicine, in Cardiology and in Allergology. Dr. Vogelmeier spent two years as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Pulmonary Branch of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD, USA. He was nominated Professor of Medicine at the Philipps-University of Marburg in 2001.

Claus Vogelmeier is an active member of several respiratory societies including the American Thoracic Society and the European Respiratory Society. From 2009 till 2011 he was president of the German Respiratory Society. Also in 2009 he became Chairman of the German Asthma and COPD Network. Since 2010 he is a member of the Science Committee and the Board of Directors of GOLD, since 2014 he serves as the chair of the Science Committee of GOLD. In 2014 he was awarded with the honorary title “Fellow of the European Respiratory Society”, in 2018 with the honorary tile “Fellow of the American Thoracic Society”. From 2018 to 2019 he was the President of the German Society for Internal Medicine (DGIM).

He has a long-standing scientific and clinical interest in obstructive lung diseases with topics ranging from pathogenetic aspects to novel diagnostic methods and clinical studies. He has published more than 400 scientific papers, reviews and book chapters, with numerous research articles in peer-reviewed journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the European Respiratory Journal, Chest and Lancet Respiratory Medicine. He has lectured nationally and internationally at numerous scientific meetings and congresses.

Topic

COPD II

Marlies Wijsenbeek

Institution:
Erasmus Medical Center, Netherlands

Marlies Wijsenbeek is pulmonary physician at the Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, a national expert centre for interstitial lung diseases (ILD) in the Netherlands and member of the European Reference Network for Rare Lung Diseases (ERN-Lung). She is chair of the multidisciplinary ILD centre. Her research interests include e-health, patient centred outcome measures in ILD, cough in ILD and new therapies in ILD and sarcoidosis. Dr Wijsenbeek is chair of group 12.01 (IIP) of the European Respiratory Society, chair of the functional committee for continued education of the ERN-Lung, member of the scientific advisory board of the European Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis & Related Disorders Federation, and Associate Editor of the European Respiratory Journal.