Welcome Message

Italy

Luca Richeldi is Chair of the Division of Pulmonary Medicine and CEMAR (Respiratory Disease Center) at Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS in Rome. He is currently Professor of Respiratory Medicine at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome (from 1st March 2017).

He is a member and the secretary of the “Infections and Tuberculosis” group of the Cochrane Collaboration. He serves as Associate Editor for the European Respiratory Journal and he is a Member of the Editorial Board of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

He is also a Member of the Clinical Problems Assembly program committee of the American Thoracic Society. He has been part of the panels in charge of the production of the international guidelines on diagnosis and management of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and on consensus classification of the idiopathic interstitial pneumonia: these documents have been endorsed by the major international respiratory scientific societies, including the American Thoracic Society and the European Respiratory Society.

Luca Richeldi has published more than 456 articles, reviews, editorials, and he has contributed several chapters in scientific books.

USA

Nicola (Nick) A. Hanania, MD, MS, is the Brown Foundation Professor of Medicine in the Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and director of the Airways Clinical Research Center at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He also serves on the Faculty Senate at Baylor College of Medicine. He is the Chief of Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at Ben Taub Hospital. He completed his medical training at the University of Jordan in Amman, Jordan, followed by a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in pulmonary medicine at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. He subsequently completed a fellowship in critical care medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, where he later earned a master’s degree in clinical investigation.

Dr Hanania has received multiple awards, including the ACCP’s Distinguished Scholar in Respiratory Health, Baylor College of Medicine Master Clinician Award, ACCP distinguished CHEST educator (DCE), ACCP Humanitarian Award, Career Investigator Award (K23) from the National Institutes of Health, Fulbright and Jaworski’s Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching and Evaluation, and the Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Department of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. He is editor-in-chief of Respiratory Medicine and is associate editor of the journal Lung. He serves on the editorial board of Chest, and COPD (J of COPD Foundation).

Dr Hanania’s research interests focus on the pharmacology and management of asthma and COPD. He has published more than 320 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, editorials, and reviews on these topics. His research has been funded by NIH, ALA and industry and focuses on clinical trials investigating novel treatments. He is principal investigator for the American Lung Association Airways Clinical Research Center and COPD Gene study at Baylor College of Medicine, as well as principal investigator or co-investigator in several clinical trials in asthma and COPD. Dr Hanania has been invited and has lectured widely at local, regional, national, and international meetings.

Italy

Rosalinda Madonna is Associate Professor of Cardiology at the University of Pisa and Director of the Center for screening, diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Pisana, Italy. She has received her PhD and specialization in Cardiology both in Chieti, Italy. Rosalinda Madonna held a position as research scientist in the Texas Heart Institute, and as adjunct assistant professor in the University of Texas Medical School in Houston, TX. She is past secretary of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Council of cardiovascular Basic Science and past Chair of the ESC Working Group Cellular Biology of the Heart.

She has authored 243 research articles/books with H index 48 and 7000 citations. She is a member of Italian Society of Cardiology and European Association Study of Diabetes. She has honored as Young Investigator Award, Italian Society for Hemostasis and Thrombosis Study (SISET) in 2004, and as “Doctor Honoris Causa” of the Semmelweis University, Budapest. Her research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular disease, heart failure and pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Belgium

Renaud Louis is full professor of Respiratory Medicine at Liege University and Head of the department of Respiratory Medicine at CHU Liege Belgium since 2004.

He has been president of the Belgian Thoracic Society 2013-2014 and Secretary of the ERS (European Respiratory Society) group 5.3 “allergy and immunology” in 2000-2003. He currently sits in the steering committee of the SHARP (CRC on severe asthma of the ERS) and has been co-Chair of the ERS task Force on the clinical practice guidelines for the Diagnosis of Asthma in Adults, which was published in the European Respiratory Journal. He is also GINA advocate.

His research interest has always been focused on asthma looking at the relationship between airway inflammation and clinical disease manifestation. He is currently running together with Prof Schleich a busy asthma clinic with more than 300 patients regularly followed and treated with biologics. He is author or co-author of more than 400 papers indexed in PubMed and his current Scopus H and Google Scholar index are 62 and 80 respectively.

He has a long expertise in conducting clinical trials in asthma and COPD for the drug industry since 1996 and is running an operative team of 4 study coordinators and data managers dealing with obstructive airway diseases.

USA

Dr. Sandeep Sahay is a pulmonary and critical care physician specializing in pulmonary vascular diseases. He pursued residency training at Cleveland Clinic hospitals and a fellowship at the University of Texas, Houston, Tx, USA. Driven by a deep passion for pulmonary vascular diseases, he joined the Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) Program at Houston Methodist Hospital, where he now serves as Director. He is also an Associate Professor affiliated with Weill Cornell Medicine.

Dr. Sahay is widely recognized for his contributions to pulmonary hypertension, with a strong focus on improving patient outcomes through research in PH treatment, risk stratification, and ILD-associated PH. As a national leader in the field, he serves as the principal investigator for multiple Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials investigating novel therapies for PH. His expertise has led to invitations to scientific steering committees, national leadership roles, and participation in guideline panels, as well as collaborations with industry and regulatory agencies.

Currently, he chairs the Pulmonary Vascular Diseases Section of the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST). He was awarded the ACCP CHEST PAH Research Grant in 2017 to study the role of estrogen in portopulmonary hypertension. He has served two consecutive terms on the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Membership Committee and is chairing guideline/consensus statement task forces with the ISHLT, European Respiratory Society, ATS, and CHEST. Additionally, he holds key roles in the American Thoracic Society’s Pulmonary Circulation Assembly, the Pulmonary Hypertension Association’s Scientific Leadership Committee, and the Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute’s innovative drug development initiative.

Over the years, Dr. Sahay has played vital role in program development for annual meetings at CHEST, ISHLT, and PVRI. He has published extensively on pulmonary hypertension and serves as Associate Editor for Pulmonary Circulation, JHLT Open, and Respiratory Medicine. His expertise is further recognized through services on endpoint adjudication committees and Data Safety Monitoring Boards (DSMBs) for NIH-funded studies and multiple clinical trials.

An enthusiastic educator, Dr. Sahay enjoys mentoring faculty, fellows, and medical colleagues worldwide. He has been honored with the Distinguished CHEST Educator Award four consecutive times since 2020. This year in 2025, American Thoracic Society has selected him to be honored as an “Outstanding Clinician”. He finds immense fulfillment in caring for PH patients and believes that he has learned invaluable lessons from them. His passion for advancing care in pulmonary hypertension and interstitial lung disease continues to drive his clinical, research, and educational endeavors.

USA

Dr. Pamela McShane was born and raised in Chicago. She attended Loyola University of Chicago for her undergraduate studies in Biology and went on to attend Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine. During fellowship training in pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Chicago, Dr. McShane developed a clinical and research interest in bronchiectasis and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) lung disease.

She developed a Chicago based clinical and research registry for bronchiectasis patients and later joined the U.S. Bronchiectasis and NTM Research Registry. Dr. McShane went on to work at the U.S. National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland where she focused on NTM infection in bronchiectasis patients. In 2020,

Dr. McShane moved to the University of Texas Health Science Center in Tyler, Texas which houses a world-renowned acid-fast bacteria laboratory. She is medical director of the Bronchiectasis and NTM Pulmonary Institute at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler. She is primary investigator for approximately a dozen clinic trials and she also serves as associate editor for CHEST and the Journal of Clinical Tuberculosis and Other Mycobacteria.

USA

Dr. Marcos Restrepo, MD, MSc, PhD, FCCP, is a Professor at the Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine, at the University of Texas Health San Antonio (UTHSA). He is an investigator and staff physician at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System, Audie L Murphy Division. He is Medical Director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System, Audie L Murphy Division and the Associate Program Director of the Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine fellowship program at UTHSA.

Dr. Restrepo completed training and board certifications in internal medicine, infectious disease, pulmonary disease, and critical care medicine. He obtained a Master in Science in Clinical Investigation from UTHSA and a PhD in Medicine from the Universidad de Valencia, Spain.

He has published more than 260 peer review manuscripts and presented at national and international scientific meetings. He is a member of both pneumonia (community acquired and hospital acquired) guidelines sponsored by the American Thoracic Society of America (ATS)/ and Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). He serves as associate editor for European Respiratory Journal (ERJ)and Respirology

Italy

Alberto Papi is Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Ferrara, Italy, and Director of the Respiratory Unit of the Department of CardioThoracic Medicine, S. Anna University Hospital, Ferrara, Italy.

Professor Papi trained in Respiratory Medicine at the University of Parma, and spent 4 years in the UK as a Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Southampton, where he is an Honorary Clinical Lecturer. In 2015, he was made a Fellow of the European Respiratory Society.
He is Member of the GOLD Science Committee.

Professor Papi’s principal field of research is airway inflammation in asthma and COPD, its molecular mechanisms and pharmacological modulation. In his studies, he has taken particular interest in the role of respiratory viral infections in stable/exacerbated obstructive lung diseases, and the underlying molecular and immunological mechanisms. He has coordinated several studies, particularly in asthma and COPD, and he has given presentations at national and international meetings. He has published more than 600 articles in peer-reviewed journals (including NEJM, Lancet, Lancet Respiratory Medicine, AJRCCM, ERJ), and several other publications in non-peer-reviewed journals. H Index 106.

Australia

Dan Chambers is a thoracic transplant physician, interstitial lung disease expert, clinical triallist and Professor of Medicine at The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. He is Chief Medical Officer of Californian biotech Rejuvenation Technologies whose mission is to develop treatments for people suffering from diseases characterised by telomere shortening.

Dan has been named Australia’s most cited researcher in the field of transplantation for each of the past 5 years. He was previously Executive Director of Research at Australia’s largest health service. Dan’s research focusses on the mechanisms, diagnosis and treatments for pulmonary fibrosis, telomere biology disorders, silicosis, and post-transplant complications. He is a global leader in investigator led and commercially sponsored interventional clinical trials in pulmonary fibrosis. He heads one of Australia’s largest pulmonary fibrosis clinics and one of the world’s largest pulmonary fibrosis clinical trial centres. Of 334 global sites, his was the highest recruiter for the recently concluded studies of nerandomilast in IPF and PPF.

He founded and previously chaired the Pulmonary Fibrosis Australasian Clinical Trial Network, in collaboration with Lung Foundation Australia. Dan spearheaded the development of new diagnostic and treatment methods for silicosis leading to his appointment to a federal taskforce to redress the re-emergence of this pneumoconiosis in Australia. He was prominent in advocating for a ban on engineered stone products, enacted by the Australian government in 2024. Dan’s work as Associate Director of the International Heart and Lung Transplant Registry (2018-2022) has impacted on donor and recipient management globally, with specific impacts on size matching, organ preservation and donation after cardiac death.

USA

Dr. Antonio Anzueto is a Professor of Medicine and Section Chief of Pulmonary at South Texas Veterans Healthcare System, an affiliated Institution with the University of Texas Health San Antonio and specializes in Pulmonary Medicine/ Critical Care.

He completed His undergraduate studies at Colegio Liceo Javier in 1972. He received his Doctor of Medicine in 1979 at the University of San Carlos, in Guatemala City. In 1989, he completed her internship and residency in internal medical followed by Pulmonary Medicine/ Critical Fellowship at University of Texas, Health, San Antonio.

He is an active member of the American Thoracic Society, American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), European Respiratory Society, Latin American Thoracic Society (ALAT), Global Obstruction Lung Disease (GOLD). Dr. Anzueto has over 300 publications in other high rated journals Dr. Anzueto have participate as a member of the Executive and Scientific Committee of the World Global COPD (GOLD Initiative); American Thoracic Society (ATS) and European Respiratory Society (ERS), COPD Guidelines committee (2004, 2010); ATS/ERS COPD Exacerbation Guidelines committee (2018); ARDS – ATS/ERS/European Critical Care Society, ARDS Berlin conference (2012); ATS/Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) community acquired pneumonia clinical practice guidelines (CAP) (2005, 2019). His expertise in Pulmonary and Critical Care has been recognized by the ERS in 2015 when he was name “Honorary Fellow of the ERS” and in 2018 by the ATS that also named him “Honorary Fellow”.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Professor & Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
President, Saudi Thoracic Society
Chairman, STS 2025 International Conference
King Saud University Medical City

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Professor & Consultant Thoracic Surgeon
Deputy Head, Division of Thoracic Surgery
Department of Surgery
Associate Director, Thoracic Surgery Fellowship Program
King Saud University Medical City

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Professor & Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Vice-President, Saudi Thoracic Society
Chairman, Clinical Sciences Department
College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, UAE

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary& Critical Care Medicine
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Professor of Medicine
Consultant Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine
Almishari Hospital

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Assistant Professor of Medicine (Adj.)
College of Medicine, Alfaisal University
Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Director, Sleep Medicine
Department of Medicine
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center

Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Allergist/Immunologist
National Guard Health Affairs
Al Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal Hospital

Abu Dhabi, UAE

Consultant Cardiologist & Cardiac Electrophysiology
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Interstitial Lung Disease
King Abdulaziz Medical City

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
King Fahad Medical City
Adult Cystic Fibrosis and Bronchiectasis

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Associate Professor of Medicine (adj.)
MGH-Institute of Health Professions, Boston, MA, USA
Consultant, Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine
King Fahad Medical City

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Professor & Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
King Abdulaziz Medical City
Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Professor & Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Chairman, Saudi Initiative for Asthma
Editor-in-Chief, Annals of Thoracic Medicine
King Abdulaziz Medical City

Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Adult Infectious Diseases
King Fahad Specialist Hospital

Taiwan

Dr. Hui Hsuan Shih, is senior attending physician, division of chest medicine, Department of medicine, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Dr. Shih is also a Clinical Instructor in Internal Medicine; She is also a renowned Specialist of Lung Cancer at the Taiwan Society of Lung Cancer. Dr. Shih has an extensive experience in interventional bronchoscopy and bronchoscopic navigation.

Dr. Shih has done research in the fields of Mesenchymal Stem Cells, pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with severe AECOPD, correlational studies of skin toxicity and quality of life in patients with advance lung cancer receiving targeting therapy, micropapillary -predominant invasive adenocarcinoma, and psychological distress, social support, and care for female cancer patients in out-patient setting.

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Assistant Professor of Medicine
Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Deputy Executive Director Advanced Clinical Programs
Medical Services, King Abdulaziz Medical City-WR
King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences
Adjunct Professor, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Head, Pulmonary Division
Department of Internal Medicine
Dammam Medical Complex

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Cardiologist
Director, Echocardiography Fellowship Program
Cardiac Center
King Fahad Medical Military Complex

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary & Sleep Medicine
Head, Asthma and Airway Diseases Unit
Director, Adult Pulmonary Fellowship Program
Division of Pulmonary Medicine
Department of Medicine
Prince Sultan Military Medical City

Kuwait City, Kuwait

Consultant Radiologist
Aladan Hospital
Ministry of Health

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Professor of Medicine 
Head Rheumatology and Specialized Clinics
Department of Medicine
King Saud University

Madinah, Saudi Arabia

Assistant Professor of Medicine (Adj.)
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Consultant Pulmonologist / Interventional Pulmonologist
King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center

Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Internal Medicine,
Infectious Disease and Critical Care Medicine
Sulaiman AlHabib Hospital

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Associate Professor of Medicine
Consultant Pulmonary & Sleep Medicine
Al-Imam University

Kuwait City, Kuwait

Associate Professor of Medicine
College of Medicine, Kuwait University
Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Head, Respiratory Unit
Al Amiri Hospital

Abha, Saudi Arabia

Associated Professor of Medicine
Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Program director of GIM in Aseer Region
Head section Respiratory Unit
Aseer Central Hospital

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Head/ Consultant Allergy & Immunology
Department of Medicine
King Faisal Specialist Hospital &Research Center

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Professor of Pulmonary Medicine (Adj.)
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Pulmonary Medicine
Pulmonary Vascular Unit
Prince Sultan Military Medical City

Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine
Maternity and Children Hospital

Taiwan

Professor Huang graduated in Thoracic Surgery from Taipei Medical University, in Taipei, Taiwan; he obtained his PhD from the Institute of Traditional Medicine, National Yang-Ming University. Professor Huang is the chief of thoracic surgery at the department of surgery at Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of Taiwan.

He has done leading research work and has many advanced publications on pulmonary oncological disorders management, including cutting-edge trials on minimally invasive surgery and advance diagnostic and therapeutic biochemical and pathological research. Professor Huang has also done cellular oncology work for two years at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Thoracic Surgery Department, Houston Texas.

Belgium

Wim Wuyts was trained in Respiratory Medicine at the University of Leuven, Belgium. He obtained PhD in respiratory Medicine at the University of Leuven. He further specialised in interstitial lung diseases at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, UK. There he had the honour to work with Prof Ron du Bois, prof David Hansel and prof Athol Wells.

Prof Wuyts is an ILD specialist and head of the unit for interstitial lung diseases in university hospitals Leuven, the largest referral centre for ILD in Belgium. He is also head of the laboratory for pulmonary fibrosis in CHROMETA (department of chronic diseases and metabolism) at K U Leuven. Key research interests include prognostic and outcome biomarkers in lung fibrosis across ILD entities, including those associated with connective tissue disease. Furthermore, the architectural ultra characterisation using micro-CT scanning and transcriptomics in IPF and other fibrotic interstitial lung diseases.

He is author of scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals concerning interstitial lung diseases, lung transplantation, pulmonary hypertension and asthma. He participated as a member for ATS/JRS/ALAT guideline group for the diagnosis of hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and to the ATS/ERS guideline group for the treatment of sarcoidosis. He is currently the secretary of the European Respiratory Society group for idiopathic interstitial pneumonias in pulmonary fibrosis.

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Pulmonary Hypertension
Head, Pulmonary Medicine Unit
King Fahad Medical Military Complex

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Director Community and Public Health
Infection Prevention and Control Program
Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Designated Institution Official of Training
King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Adult Infectious Diseases
Department of Medicine
Security Forces Hospital Program

Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine
Department of Internal Medicine
King Abdulaziz National Guard Hospital

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Interventional Pulmonology
Department of Medicine
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Assistance Professor of Medicine
Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Airway diseases
King Saud University Medical City

Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Assistant Professor of Medicine
Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Interstitial Lung Disease
Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Pulmonary Hypertension
Lung Health Department
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Internal Medicine & Infectious Diseases
Prince Sultan Military Medical City

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Assistant Professor of Medicine
Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Asthma and Airway Diseases
King Abdulaziz University

Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
AlMoosa Specialist Hospital

Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
King Abdulaziz National Guard Hospital

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Radiologist, Body and Cardiothoracic Imaging
Head, Medical Imaging
International Medical Center
WellCare KAUST Health

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Pulmonary Hypertension
Director, Adult Pulmonary Fellowship Program
Director, Internal Medicine Residency Program
King Fahad Medical City

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonologist
Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare

Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Associate Professor & Consultant, Respiratory Care
Chief Operating Officer
Dammam Health Network

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Associate professor (Adj.)
Alfaisal University

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Professor of Medicine (Adj.)
Indiana University School of Medicine
Consultant Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases
Director of Accreditation and Infection Control
Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Professor of Medicine
College of Medicine
King Abdulaziz University
Consultant Pulmonary Medicine and Interventional Pulmonology
Head of Bronchoscopy Unit
King Abdulaziz University Hospital

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Head, Pulmonary Division
Director, Pulmonary Fellowship Program
Security Forces Hospital Program

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Interventional Pulmonology
Head, Division Pulmonary Medicine
Prince Sultan Military Medical City

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Professor and Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
King Saud University for Health Sciences
Professor- McGill University (Adj.)
Head, Pulmonary Division,
Director, Sleep Disorders Center
King Abdulaziz Medical City
Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Assistant Professor of Medicine (Adj.)
College of Medicine, Alfaisal University
Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Asthma and Sleep Medicine
King Fahad Medical City

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Professor of Medicine
Consultant Adult Cardiology
Head, CHD Taskforce, SAPH
King Fahad Cardiac Center
King Saud University Medical City

Italy

Nicola Sverzellati graduated in Radiology at the University of Parma and obtained his PhD in “Advanced Cardio-Thoracic Imaging”. He is full professor of radiology head of the ‘Diagnostic Department’ at the University Hospital of Parma.

Professor Sverzellati is the radiology lead for imaging of chest disorders at the University Hospital of Parma. At present, his main current research topics are as follows: interstitial lung disease, lung cancer, and pulmonary arterial hypertension. He also took part in several research projects around lung cancer screening trials (e.g. the Multicentric Italian Lung Detection trial).

He is member of the Fleischner Society, president of the thoracic section of the italian society of diagnsotic and interventional radiology (SIRM), and past President of the European Society of Thoracic Imaging (ESTI).
He authored or co-authored 343 peer review articles, numerous abstracts for international congresses, and book chapters. He is also of editor of three books.

Italy

Dr. Roberto Badagliacca is an associate professor of cardiology at Sapienza University of Rome.
My research focus during and following my medical training has been on pulmonary arterial hypertension. I received advanced clinical and research training in cardiovascular diesease, cardiovascular imaging, and advanced heart failure. Since my appointment as Associate Professor of Cardiology, I have developed a specific interest in studying the pathophysiology, imaging phenotyping and risk stratification of pulmonary arterial hypertension. My research experience has culminated as Chairman Elect of the ESC Working Group on Pulmonary Circulation & Right Ventricular Function.

I have also been included as a Task Force Member of important Guidelines and Consensus documents Committees: Guidelines for the “Diagnosis and Treatment of Pulmonary Hypertension” for the European Society of Cardiology and European Respiratory Society (2020-2022); Consensus Statement on “Peri-operative Management of Patients with Pulmonary Hypertension and Right Heart Failure Undergoing Surgery” for the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation (2020-2022); Consensus Statement on “Risk Stratification in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension” for the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation (2022).

Spain

Dr. Eva Polverino is a specialist in respiratory diseases since 2003. After achieving a PhD in cardiorespiratory pathophysiology, she focused her work in the field of respiratory infections since 2007 at the University of Barcelona (Hospital Clinic). She is an associate professor of the faculty of medicine (University of Barcelona) between 2014 and 2016 and director of different doctoral theses and of 2 end-of-course projects. She is currently Head of the research Unit in Respiratory Infections of the Department of Respiratory Diseases at Hospital Vall d’Hebron in Barcelona (VHIR, Spain).
Her main lines of investigation are:

• Non cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFBE)
• Cystic fibrosis (CF)
• Antimicrobial resistance
• Primary and secondary Immunodeficiencies
• Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP)
• Respiratory physiotherapy

She is particularly active at European level as:
Director of ERS relationship with the EU. Head of the Assembly of respiratory infections of the European Respiratory Society until September 2023. Head of the Group of adult Cystic Fibrosis (ERS, Assembly 10) until September 2023. Member of the Executive Committee and Science Council of ERS. Spanish delegate for the HERMES project (Harmonising education in respiratory medicine for European specialists) in respiratory infections for ERS.
Co-chair of the European Registry of Bronchiectasis (EMBARC, www.bronchiectasis.eu) and clinical research collaboration of ERS. Co-investigator of different EU funded projects aimed at investigating new treatments, reduce antibiotic overuse and antimicrobial resistance control. Principal investigator and collaborator of numerous clinical trials in respiratory infections (new drugs for CAP, CF and NCFBE) and in respiratory physiotherapy. Editor for Springer and ERJ monograph, author of more than 130 scientific publications, reviewer of >10 scientific journals, and for the Spanish agency of Scientific awards/grants (ANEP). Frequent speaker and moderator at scientific congresses (ERS, SEPAR, etc.) and seminars/ classes regarding infections in respiratory diseases.

USA

Dr. Elliot Ho completed his Internal Medicine residency training at the
University of California Los Angeles – Olive View, and his Pulmonary and
Critical Care Medicine fellowship training at the University of California San
Francisco – Fresno. He pursued further sub-specialty training in Interventional
Pulmonology at the University of Chicago.

He is currently Assistant Professor at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda,
California. His research experience has included the use of thoracic
ultrasound, robotic bronchoscopy, and endobronchial ultrasound. With over 10
publications, Dr. Ho plans to continue pursuing his research interest in
navigational bronchoscopy and pleural disease. He hopes to expand the
accessibility of minimally invasive bronchoscopic techniques in robotic
bronchoscopy and bronchial lung volume reduction for emphysema.

Italy

Dr. Roberto Tonelli, MD, PhD, works as Assistant Professor in Respiratory Medicine in the Respiratory Intensive Care Unit of the University Hospital of Modena. He had training periods at the Respiratory Disease Unit of the Royal Brompton Hospital of London (UK), at the Interstitial Lung Disease Unit of the University of California San Francisco of San Francisco (CA, USA) and at the Intensive Care Unit of the Amsterdam University Medical Centers (NL)
During his career, he has been developing skills in the management of acute respiratory failure requiring non-invasive respiratory support and mechanical ventilation. His research activities mainly focused on respiratory mechanics and patient’s self-inflicted lung injury during non-assisted and assisted spontaneous breathing in patients with acute hypoxic respiratory failure (AHRF). Moreover, he has been spending great interest in the monitoring of patients with AHRF with the aim to identify early predictors of ventilatory failure. He also explored the mechanical properties of the fibrotic lung during, controlled, assisted and non-assisted spontaneous breathing. Since 2023 he holds the patent N 102021000007478 for the “Apparatus for detecting and monitoring of nasal pressure” released by the Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy and he is co-founder of the start-up IREC ltd. He co-founded the Experimental Pulmonology Laboratory of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia,
He is member of the European Respiratory Society and the Italian Society of Pulmonology.
He is currently involved in the design and conduction as PI and co-PI of several clinical trials exploring respiratory mechanics in patients with acute respiratory failure. Roberto Tonelli has published more than 90 peer reviewed papers and serves as associate editor, guest editor and reviewer for several major journals on respiratory diseases.

USA

Dr. Stephen Hobbs serves as Chief of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Radiology at the University of Kentucky with a joint appointment in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Hobbs has lectured at the national and international level on cardiothoracic imaging topics ranging from cardiothoracic surgery complications to diffuse lung disease. He has particular interests in interstitial lung disease as well as resident education and is co‐editor of Thoracic Imaging: A Core Review. He serves as a thoracic imaging section editor for the Annals of the American Thoracic Society and is a Fellow in the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT). Dr. Hobbs has recently finished his tenure as President of the Kentucky Chapter of the American College of Radiology for which he still serves as a Councilor.

In addition to his radiology interests, Dr. Hobbs has a strong imaging informatics and information technology focus including board certification in Clinical Informatics. He serves as the Vice-Chair for Radiology Informatics and Integrated Clinical Operations and as the Imaging Informatics Medical Director for the UK HealthCare Enterprise. He completed radiology residency at the University of Kentucky and subspecialty fellowship training in cardiothoracic radiology at the University of Colorado and National Jewish Health in Denver, Colorado.

Italy

Paolo Spagnolo is a full Professor of Respiratory Medicine and Director of the Residency Program in Respiratory Medicine at the University of Padua (Italy).

He received his undergraduate training and his MD, and completed his residency in Respiratory Medicine at the University Hospital of Bari (Italy). In 2002, Dr Spagnolo joined the Interstitial Lung Disease Unit of the Royal Brompton Hospital (London), initially as clinical research fellow under the supervision of Professor Ron du Bois and subsequently as Honorary Consultant. In 2008, he completed his PhD at the Imperial College of London under the supervision of Professor Ron du Bois and Professor Ken Welsh, with a thesis on “Genetic predisposition to clinical phenotypes of sarcoidosis”. Between 2008 and 2013, he was research fellow and subsequently Assistant Professor in Respiratory Medicine at the University Hospital of Modena where he joined the Centre for Rare Lung Diseases lead by Professor Luca Richeldi. Since 2015, Dr Spagnolo is a Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health of the University Hospital of Padua (Italy).

His main research interests include interstitial lung disease and sarcoidosis with emphasis on genetic predisposition, prediction of disease behaviour and clinical trials of novel therapies. Dr Spagnolo is the author or co-author of more than 200 journal articles, review articles and editorials. He is the chair of the Study Group on Sarcoidosis of the European Respiratory Society and the treasurer of the World Association of Sarcoidosis and Other Granulomatous diseases (WASOG).

Australia

Professor Shyamali Dharmage is a world-recognised leader in Life Course Epidemiology of Chronic Respiratory Diseases. She developed and leads the internationally recognized Allergy & Lung Health Unit, Centre for Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of Melbourne. She is the custodian and PI of two of the world’s key studies in allergies and lung health; including NHMRC funded Melbourne Atopy Cohort Study (MACS) and Tasmanian Longitudinal Health Study (TAHS). She has more than 550 publications and has been awarded >$75 million in research grants. Professor Dharmage is currently the top ranked obstructive lung diseases epidemiologist in Australia and third globally.  She is in the top 0.018% among 219,873 all obstructive lung disease researchers worldwide (Expertscape).

Her recognition of research excellence is evidenced by national and international advisory board invitations such as the Lancet Commissioner in COPD. She was also a member of the expert committee that developed the Australian COPD Blueprint and led its prevention chapter. In recognition of her contributions, she has been awarded the esteemed title of Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor, four prestigious Fellow titles (Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, European Respiratory Society, College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka, Dame Kate Campbell) and the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine
Division of Pulmonary Medicine
Department of Medicine
King Abdulaziz Medical City

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Chronic Ventilation
Director, Internal Medicine Residency Training Program
Assistant professor of Medicine (Adj.)
College of Medicine, Alfaisal University
Prince Sultan Military Medical City

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Associate Professor of Medicine
Consultant Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine
Department of Medicine
King Abdulaziz University

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Assistance Professor of Medicine
Consultant Pulmonology and Airway diseases
King Saud University Medical City

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Assistant Professor (adj.)
Division Head of Respirology
Director, Pulmonary Fellowship Training Program-WR
King Abdulaziz Medical City

Alkhobar, Saudi Arabia

Professor of Medicine
Division Head, Pulmonary Medicine
Senior Consultant Intensivist, Pulmonologist
Department of Medicine – KFHU
Al Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University