News — Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the fourth most common cause of death in the U.S., and is risingβ yet research funding is shamefully low, and public awareness and knowledge on the subject is next to nil.
Because COPD develops over decades doctors are just now beginning to see the effects of long-ago changes in smoking behavior. The death rate in women, who began smoking in much greater numbers in the 1950's, 60's and 70's, has been greater than in men since 2000.
As the front page article in today's New York Times illustrates, there is a pressing public need for more information about COPD.
As a leading association of pulmonary experts and researchers, ATS is a great resource for expert information on COPD. Our experts are located around the country and are available for in-person interviews as well as phone and email exchanges:
The American Thoracic Society has more than 18,000 members who prevent and fight respiratory disease around the globe, through research, education, patient care and advocacy. The following members are experts on COPD and are available to answer media inquiries on this growing public health threat.
William C. Bailey, M.D., FACP, FCCP ATS Expert, COPDEminent Scholar Chair in Pulmonary DiseasesUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamMedical Director
Area of Expertise: General expertDr. William C. Bailey, is Medical Director of the Lung Health Center, Professor of Medicine and Eminent Scholar Chair in Pulmonary Diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and past chairman of the US COPD Coalition. Dr. Bailey has been on the faculty of the University of Alabama at Birmingham since 1973 and has been Professor of Medicine since 1979 where he has practiced medicine, taught, performed research, and been involved in administrative endeavors for his entire career. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the American Thoracic Society and on the Council of the National, Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. In addition, Dr. Bailey has been a member of many editorial review boards of peer-reviewed journals and has served as a frequent scientific reviewer of both scientific articles and peer-reviewed research. He has published more than 200 articles and has been the recipient of many grants and contracts from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and many other sources. He currently holds the Eminent Scholar Chair in Pulmonary Diseases, while also being the Medical Director of the UAB Lung Health Center. He graduated from Tulane University Medical School and is a Diplomat of the Board of the American Board of Internal Medicine in both Internal Medicine and Pulmonary Disease, having received certified specialty training in these disciplines at Tulane University Medical Center and Charity Hospital of Louisiana.
Homer A. Boushey, Jr., M.D.Past-President of the American Thoracic Society (ATS)Co-chair of ATS Task Force on SpirometryChair of the ATS FoundationProfessor of Medicine
Area of Expertise: General expertDr. Homer Boushey is recognized nationally and internationally for his work in the field of pulmonary medicine. He is an expert in clinical research on diseases of the airways, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and has focused on the effects of pollutants, allergens and infectious agents. He has studied the causes and treatments of asthma for over 30 years, and has lately focused on applying new methods for detecting microbes to the study not only of asthma, but also of COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, and other lung diseases.
Sonia Buist, M.D.Past President, ATSProfessor Emerita
Are of expertise: Worldwide prevalence and women and COPD
Dr. Buist has been studying the epidemiology, management and health outcomes of the disease for more than 30 years. She started and directed the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) Initiative, which is designed to develop standardized methods for estimating the prevalence of COPD in countries at all levels of economic development. She served as Chief of Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care for 20 years and was Chair of the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) until September 2007. More women now die annually from COPD than men, and they are developing it at a much faster rate, partly owing to changes in smoking and age demographics.
Richard Casaburi, Ph.D., M.D.Immediate Past Co-Chair American Thoracic Society (ATS) Pulmonary Rehabilitation SectionProfessor of Medicine
Area of expertise: COPD and pulmonary rehabilitationAn expert in clinical management and treatment of COPD, Dr. Casaburi has been studying COPD, rehabilitation and exercise physiology for more than 20 years. He established the Rehabilitation Clinical Trials Center at his institution, a facility dedicated to developing strategies to improve the lives of COPD patients, and is leader of a site of the COPD Clinical Research Network, an NIH-funded effort to identify and evaluate new therapies for COPD. He now serves as Professor and Associate Chief for Research, Division of Respiratory and Critical Care Physiology and Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and director of the Clinical Pulmonary Physiology Laboratories at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, as well as President of the Pulmonary Education and Research Foundation a non-profit corporation dedicated to the advancement of COPD education and research.
Bartolome Celli, M.D.Co-Chair, American Thoracic Society-European Respiratory Society (ATS-ERS) Taskforce on the Standards on the Diagnosis and Treatment of COPD
Area of expertise: Treatment standards, diagnosis and under-recognition of COPDAn internationally recognized expert on COPD treatment and management, Dr Celli has been studying clinical outcomes of COPD for more than 30 years and is author of more than 120 research articles on the subject. He is principal investigator of the TORCH (Towards a Revolution in COPD Health) Study, the largest ever, multi-center long-term COPD study. Funded by GSK, the three-year study of more than 6,000 patients from 42 countries began in 2004.
Dennis E. Doherty, M.D.Member, ATS Board of Directors Member, Clinicians Advisory CommitteesChief of Medical ServicesLexington Veterans Affairs Medical CenterProfessor of MedicineMedical Director of Respiratory care Services
Area of Expertise: Early detection and treatment of COPD, long-term care, and burden of the diseaseAs Chairman of the National Lung Health Education Program Dr. Doherty's mission is the earlier detection and treatment of COPD, better understanding of the burden of the disease and its epidemiology, and both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatment including long-term oxygen therapy. Dr. Doherty co-chaired the 6th Oxygen Consensus Conference. He speaks internationally on oxygen therapy, and was instrumental in helping get portable oxygen concentrators on airlines. Dr. Doherty is Chairman of the National Lung Health Education Program, Co-Chairman of the 6th Oxygen Consensus Conference, Board of Directors member of the NAMDRC, and member of the executive committee of the US COPD Coalition in addition to his ATS positions. He has extensive media experience, having participated in several PSA's and SMT's, and has won two Telly awards.
John H. Hansen-Flaschen, M.D.Past Chair ATS International Lung Health CommitteeChief, Pulmonology, Allergy and Critical Care DivisionAllergy and Critical Care Division
Area of expertise: Diagnosis and treatment of COPDDr. Hansen-Flaschen been at the University of Pennsylvania for 30 years, and completed his internship, residency and fellowship there before joining the faculty in 1982. He has published more than 80 articles and edited two books on the diagnosis and treatment of lung disease and the ethics of end-of-life care. Dr. Hansen-Flaschen oversees the teaching, research and patient care efforts of more than 40 full-time faculty members. He also regularly attends in the MICU and has a substantial outpatient practice devoted to diagnostic pulmonary medicine he coordinates clinical services of the Penn Lung Center. He has been included in "America's Top Doctors" for six consecutive years.
David Ingbar, M.D.President ATSDirector, Pulmonology, Allergy and Critical Care DivisionProfessor of Medicine, Physiology and Pediatrics
Area of Expertise: Repair of the damaged lung; ICU care of acute respiratory failureDr. Ingbar conducts research on lung injury and repair, with a particular focus on clearance of pulmonary edema fluid from the lungs. He directs a National Institutes of Health Training Grant and is interested in training of physician scientists. Dr. Ingbar is a Past President of the Association of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Program Directors and served on the editorial board of the American Journal of Physiology and on the American Board of Internal Medicine's Pulmonary Subspecialty Board. He has been named one of the Best Doctors in America for a number of consecutive years. He now is Director of the Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Division at the University of Minnesota, where he also is Professor of Medicine, Physiology and Pediatrics. His clinical expertise is in the care of ICU patients and of acute respiratory failure, specifically acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Suzanne Lareau, R.N., M.S.Member of the ATS/ERS Task Force to develop Standards for the Diagnosis and Treatment of COPDPulmonary Clinical Nurse Specialist(111-A)
Area of expertise: Standards of diagnosis, management, and treatment of COPDSuzanne Lareau has served on numerous committees and research activities in her capacity as a COPD expert to develop standards for diagnosis, management and treatment of the disease: the ATS/ERS Task Force to develop Standards for the Diagnosis and Treatment of COPD, and two 1999 ATS Standards: the ATS/ERS Task Force to develop Standards for Pulmonary Rehabilitation; and the ATS Dyspnea Statement; among others. She has more than 35 years of experience in the field.
Alan Plummer, M.D.Former Vice President of ATS Professor of Medicine in the PulmonaryAllergy and Critical Care Division
Area of expertise: COPD and asthmaDr. Plummer has treated patients with COPD for 37 years, written a number of articles on it and lecture regularly to house staff and community physicians both locally and nationally. He was the first member of the Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Section at the Emory Clinic, and is board certified in Internal Medicine and Pulmonary Diseases. Patients with asthma, COPD, bronchiectasis, sarcoidosis and interstitial lung disease have held his interests throughout his career. He participates in the ILD, asthma, and COPD clinics. He has been recognized as one of the Best Doctors in America yearly since 1999.
Sharon S. Rounds, M.D.Past President, ATS 2004-2005Chief of Pulmonary/Critical Care at the Providence VA Medical Center; Professor of Medicine and of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Brown Medical School
Area of expertise: patient compliance and barriers to careDr. Rounds has written and spoken extensively about factors impairing patient compliance with therapy for lung diseases, pulmonary hypertension, and the treatment of COPD. Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Veterans Affairs, she conducts research on endothelial cell injury and the mechanisms of pulmonary hypertension. Dr. Rounds has been a faculty member at Brown University for the last 18 years. Prior to this, she served in various positions at Boston University School of Medicine. Her primary research interests include mechanisms of endothelial cell injury, pulmonary hypertension, and factors impairing compliance with therapy of lung diseases.
Robert A. Sandhaus, M.D., Ph.D., FCCPATS Expert. COPDProfessor of Medicine and Director, Alpha-1 ProgramNational Jewish Medical and Research Center
Area of expertise: Genetics of COPDDr. Robert "Sandy" Sandhaus specializes in the genetic aspects of COPD. For the past seven years, he has been the Executive Vice President and Medical Director of AlphaNet and the Clinical Director of the Alpha-1 Foundation in Miami, Florida, while continuing to follow patients with genetic lung disease at National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, Colorado. His recent publications have focused on therapeutic studies treating genetic lung disease and the role of therapies and disease management in improving quality of life. In addition to his ongoing academic career, Dr. Sandhaus has worked in research and development in the biopharmaceutical industry. He ran clinical development programs at Cortech, NeXstar Pharmaceuticals, and Gilead Sciences during the 1990s. Dr. Sandhaus is board certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, and Critical Care Medicine. He is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) medical honor society. He lives in Bow Mar, Colorado.
Brian L. Tiep, M.D.ATS Expert, COPDMedical Director
Pulmonary RehabilitationCity of Hope National Medical Center1500 E Duarte Rd, Duarte, CA 91010
Area of expertise: Invention of pulmonological devices; pulmonary rehabilitation of patients with COPDDr. Tiep designs clinical programs and devices for patients with COPD. He has contributed his expertise extensively to the ATS-ERS COPD Guideline Committee, Best of the Web COPD and COPD Disease Management, and ATS's own website; he is presently doing pulmonary rehabilitation to prepare COPD patients with cancer for lung cancer surgery.
Peter Wagner, M.D.President of the American Thoracic Society, 2006Distinguished Professor of Medicine & BioengineeringHead, Division of PhysiologyUniversity of California, San Diego
Area of expertise: Lung structure and functionDr. Wagner has been a faculty member at the University of California, San Diego, since completing his postdoctoral fellowship there more than 30 years ago. He can speak authoritatively about lung structure and function in health and disease. He serves as a consultant to the National Institutes of Health and recently completed a six-year term as associate editor of the Journal of Applied Physiology. He serves on the Council of the American Physiological Society, and on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Physiological Genomics and Respiratory Physiology and Neurobiology. He has written more than 350 articles, chapters, reviews and editorials on respiratory and critical care medicine. Dr. Wagner's research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health for the past three decades.
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