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 Editors for this issue. SECTION EDITORS Manish JoshiManish JoshiDr Joshi is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is also a staff physician at the John L. McClellan VA Hospital in Little Rock. He has served as the Director of the Pulmonary and Critical Care fellowship program at UAMS (2015–2020), and currently serves as the Medical Director of the pulmonary function laboratory at the John L. McClellan VA Hospital. Dr Joshi received his medical degree from SMS Medical College in Jaipur, India. He then completed a residency in Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis at SMS Medical College. After his residency, he immigrated to the United States of America and did his residency in Internal Medicine at St. Joseph Hospital in Chicago, IL. He completed a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dr Joshi is a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP). As a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians, Dr Joshi has served on ACCP Chest Infections Network committee and Clinical Pulmonary Medicine Network committee. Dr Joshi has received multiple awards including a Young Investigator Semi-Finalist Award from the American College of Chest Physicians. Dr Joshi is a clinician researcher whose major clinical and research interests focus on obstructive lung diseases and granulomatous lung diseases. He received the 2012 Dr Norman L. Jones award from the Canadian Thoracic Society and Canadian Respiratory Journal for his research article on the use of interferon-gamma release assays in healthcare workers. He is also a reviewer for several international journals. In addition to the above activities, Dr Joshi enjoys teaching house staff and students, and educating physicians and health care providers. He has a busy clinical schedule and enjoys his clinical duties as a consultant pulmonologist and intensivist at both the University of Arkansas Medical Center and the affiliated Veterans Hospital. He has been named among best doctors in Arkansas multiple times. Basil VarkeyBasil VarkeyDr Basil Varkey obtained his medical degree from Trivandrum (Thiruvanathapuram) Medical College in Kerala, India. He then served as a General Practitioner in a village in Kerala. He immigrated to the United States of America in 1965 and did his residency and fellowship training at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) affiliated hospitals in Milwaukee, USA. He joined the faculty of MCW in 1972 as instructor and rose to the title of Professor of Medicine in 1983. Dr Varkey has held several administrative positions at MCW and its affiliate, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), in Milwaukee. Notably, he was Chief of the Pulmonary and Critical Care Section at VAMC and directed the Internal Medicine Program for 20 years. He took the lead role in establishing a clinical and teaching program in palliative care at VAMC. For many years he was Director of the Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship Training Program at MCW. Dr Varkey has taught and mentored many hundreds of physicians over four decades. His dedication and devotion to educational excellence has been well recognized. Over the years at MCW he has received many teaching awards. He is a four-time winner of the Best Teacher of the Year Award from resident physicians, and the Ernest O. Henschel Clinical Teaching Award from graduating medical students. In 2001 he was elected to the Society of Teaching Scholars of MCW. Dr Varkey is a member of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) and was twice elected as a Governor, and has served in many committees and work groups. He has served as faculty in annual scientific meetings of ACCP and was the Chair of the Palliative and End-of-Life Care network. He has chaired several continuing medical education programs and has been an invited professor at institutions in the USA and other countries. Dr Varkey's major areas of clinical and research interest are pleuro-pulmonary infections, mycoses, obstructive airway diseases and palliative medicine. He has authored or co-authored 135 peer-reviewed medical articles (cited in over 2,200 articles), over 50 book chapters and many abstracts. Dr Varkey is the recipient of many honors; among them are election to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society by medical students, selection to the VA Faculty Leaders Project for improved care at the end-of-life, and the Roger C. Bone Award for Advances in End-of-Life Care awarded by the Chest Foundation and ACCP. Dr Varkey was awarded the Distinguished Service Award, MCW's highest honor, in 2004, for his dedicated service and excellence as a clinician, scholar and teacher. Dr Varkey recognizes with gratitude his role models, Dr Narayana Pai, a gentle and compassionate Professor of Medicine at his medical college in Trivandrum and Dr Harold Rose, an astute Clinician and Master Teacher at MCW. Dr Basil Varkey, Professor Emeritus of Medicine (Pulmonary & Critical Care) at MCW, currently resides in Austin, Texas, USA.