ERS Gold Medals awarded to leading researchers in COPD, asthma, ARDS and ILD

Immediate release

Leading researchers in the fields of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and interstitial lung disease (ILD) have been recognised with four prestigious awards presented by the European Respiratory Society (ERS).

The recipients are Professor Dave Singh, Professor Sebastian Johnston, Professor Greet Van den Berghe and Professor Gisli Jenkins, who will receive the ERS Gold Medal in COPD, the ERS Gold Medal in Asthma, the ERS Gold Medal in ARDS and the ERS Gold Medal in ILD, respectively, as part of the activities for the 30^th annual ERS International Congress 2020, taking place as a virtual event from 7–9 September 2020.

The awards recognise excellence in four important fields of respiratory medicine and provide a grant of €50,000 to support a researcher who is pursuing an active or innovative research project in each. Awardees were selected for their previous achievements and the quality of their ongoing research.

Dave Singh is Professor of Clinical Pharmacology and Respiratory Medicine at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom. His research interest is in the development of new drugs for asthma and COPD. He is the medical director of the Medicines Evaluation Unit, where he has acted as principal investigator in over 300 clinical trials. Prof. Singh is a member of the GOLD Science Committee and Chair of the Airway Pharmacology and Treatment Group of the ERS Airway Diseases, Asthma and COPD Assembly. Learn more

Sebastian Johnston is Professor of Respiratory Medicine & Allergy at the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI), Imperial College London, and Honorary Consultant Physician in Respiratory Medicine & Allergy at St Mary’s Hospital, Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust, London. Notable discoveries that have emerged from his work include establishing the viral aetiology of many asthma exacerbations, discovering novel mechanisms of susceptibility to virus infection in asthma, and developing novel and effective treatment approaches for acute exacerbations of asthma. Learn more

Greet Van den Berghe is Professor of Medicine and Head of the Department and Laboratory of Intensive Care Medicine at KU Leuven, Belgium. She currently runs a research programme on the endocrinology of critical illness, is co-supervisor of 41 PhDs and is a highly cited researcher. Prof. Van den Berghe has received more than 60 scientific awards, was Clinical Research Investigator for the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research and a member of the Belgian Royal Academy of Medicine, among other prestigious honours. Learn more

Gisli Jenkins is an NIHR Research Professor and Professor of Experimental Medicine at the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom. His work focuses on understanding mechanisms of fibrogenesis to enable the development of stratified approaches to the treatment of progressive pulmonary fibrosis. He set up the Nottingham post-COVID respiratory clinic and is the academic lead for the Nottingham ILD Unit. He is joint editor-in-chief of Thorax and was chair of the British Thoracic Society Science and Research Committee until 2018. Learn more

View all ERS awards and meet the recipients