Editorial introductions

Abstract

Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine was launched in 1995. It is one of a successful series of review journals whose unique format is designed to provide a systematic and critical assessment of the literature as presented in the many primary journals. The field of pulmonary medicine is divided into nine sections that are reviewed once a year. Each section is assigned a Section Editor, a leading authority in the area, who identifies the most important topics at that time. Here we are pleased to introduce the Journal's Section Editor for this issue. SECTION EDITORS Marc HumbertMarc HumbertMarc Humbert, MD, PhD, is Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the South Paris University (Université Paris-Saclay) in Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France. In addition to his academic responsibilities, he is the Director of the National Reference Centre for Pulmonary Hypertension, Department of Respiratory and Intensive Care Medicine, Hospital Bicetre, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, France. Along with membership to several scientific councils and institutes, Marc Humbert is the past Chairman of the Research Committee of the Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris and current Director of the INSERM Unit ‘Pulmonary Hypertension: Pathophysiology and Innovative Therapies’ and of the ‘Thorax Innovation’ University Hospital Department. Since January 2013, he has been the Chief Editor of the European Respiratory Journal. He has published widely (over 600 peer-reviewed manuscripts) in the fields of asthma, pulmonary hypertension, and pulmonary inflammation. He is a Fellow of the European Respiratory Society (FERS Foundation Fellow) and has received several distinctions, including the 1997 François Brenot Award and the 2006 Cournand Lecture Award from the European Respiratory Society, the 2009 Descartes-Huygens Award from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the 2016 Eliane and Gérard Pauthier Rare Disease Award of the Fondation de France. Since 2017, Marc Humbert has been the Vice-Coordinator of the European Reference Network for rare and low prevalence respiratory diseases (ERN-LUNG). Richard ChannickRichard ChannickDr Richard Channick is Director of the Pulmonary Hypertension and Thromboendarterectomy Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, USA. Dr Channick received his medical degree at Temple University Medical School, where he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He did his residency and was Chief Resident at University of Massachusetts Medical Center, USA. He did a Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship at University of California, San Diego Medical Center. Dr Channick has been caring for pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary embolism patients for 27 years and has served on the steering committees for several pivotal clinical trials in pulmonary vascular disease. Dr Channick has published over 150 original articles, chapters and reviews focused on all aspects of pulmonary hypertension. He serves on many national and international leadership committees including the American Thoracic Society Pulmonary Circulation Program Committee and the Board of Directors of Pulmonary Hypertension Care Centers, Inc. He is currently immediate past Chair of the Scientific Leadership Committee for the Pulmonary Hypertension Association and lectures nationally and internationally on pulmonary hypertension and thromboembolic disease. Francesco BonellaFrancesco BonellaFrancesco Bonella, MD, PhD, is Assistant Professor at the Unit for Interstitial and Rare Lung Disease, Department of Pneumology of the Ruhrlandklinik University Hospital in Essen, Germany. After receiving his MD and Board Certification at the University of Verona, Italy, he earned his international PhD in Interstitial Lung Diseases at the University of Essen under the guidance of Professor Ulrich Costabel. Dr Bonella's research interests include IPF, alveolar proteinosis, rheumatic-associated ILDs, and sarcoidosis with a special focus on biomarkers, genetic predisposition and applications of bronchoalveolar lavage. In recent years, he has acted as an investigator for major clinical trials in IPF, sarcoidosis and alveolar proteinosis. He is reviewer for numerous scientific journals and has authored many chapters in textbooks, original articles, case reports, editorials and reviews. He co-founded EuPAPNet, the European Network for Alveolar Proteinosis, and is coordinator of the ILD core network inside the European Reference Network (ERN-LUNG). He is a member of several scientific societies, and is Chair elected of the ERS DPLD group. Paolo SpagnoloPaolo SpagnoloPaolo Spagnolo is an Associate Professor of 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, UK, 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 2010 and 2013 he was lecturer in Respiratory Medicine at the University Hospital of Modena, Italy, where he joined the Center for Rare Lung Diseases lead by Professor Luca Richeldi. Subsequently, he joined the Medical University Clinic of the Canton Hospital Baselland in Liestal, Switzerland as Senior Clinical Research Fellow. At present, Dr Spagnolo is an Associate Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, University Hospital of Padua. His main research interests include sarcoidosis and interstitial lung disease, with emphasis on genetic predisposition, prediction of disease behaviour and clinical trials of novel therapies. Dr Spagnolo is the author or co-author of about 100 journal articles, review articles, editorials and book chapters. He is member of the Editorial Board of BioMed Research International and BMJ Open Respiratory Medicine, and Section Editor (Interstitial Lung Disease) for Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine. He is also Treasurer of the WASOG (World Association of Sarcoidosis and Other Granulomatous Diseases). Robert P. BaughmanRobert P. BaughmanDr Baughman is Professor of Medicine at the University of Cincinnati, USA. After completing undergraduate training at Yale University, he received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, USA. He joined the Internal Medicine staff at the University of Cincinnati after completing both an Internal Medicine residency and fellowship training in pulmonary diseases at the University of Cincinnati. His major research interests include the treatment of sarcoidosis and bronchoalveolar lavage. Along with his longtime collaborator Dr Elyse Lower, he has developed several novel treatments for sarcoidosis, including methotrexate, thalidomide, leflunomide, and infliximab. Current studies include treatments for pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis associated fatigue and pulmonary hypertension due to sarcoidosis. He is Editor of Sarcoidosis, Vasculitis, and Diffuse Lung Disease and Current Opinion of Pulmonary Medicine. He is on the editorial board of multiple subspecialty journals, and his publications include over 200 original papers and over 100 review articles and book chapters. He has edited several books on sarcoidosis, pulmonary hypertension, and interstitial lung disease. Marcel VeltkampMarcel VeltkampMarcel Veltkamp (1976) studied both Medical Biology and Medicine at the University of Utrecht, Netherlands. He started his training in respiratory medicine in 2004 at the St. Antonius Hospital Nieuwegein, Netherlands. In 2011 he finished his thesis ‘Sensing of pathogens by Toll-like receptors in Sarcoidosis’, and in 2012 he worked as a fellow in Interstitial Lung Disease at the University Hospital Gasthuisberg in Leuven, Belgium. Since 2013 he has been working as a pulmonologist at the ILD center of excellence of the St. Antonius Hospital Nieuwegein. Besides his patient-driven activities in both clinic and out-patient clinic he also participates in multiple research projects regarding sarcoidosis, pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary alveolar proteinosis and lymphangioleiomyomatosus. In 2017 he became a member of the Lung Transplant Team of the University Medical Center Utrecht and St. Antonius Hospital Nieuwegein. Marcel Veltkamp is a member of the Dutch society of pulmonologists (NVALT), the European Respiratory Society (ERS), the World Association of Sarcoidosis and Other Granulomatous Diseases (WASOG) and the American Thoracic Society (ATS).