ERS Gold Medal recognises leading researchers in asthma and COPD

Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Leading researchers in the field of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been recognised by two new prestigious awards from the European Respiratory Society (ERS).

Professor Annemie Schols and Professor Adnan Custovic will be presented with the ERS Gold Medal in COPD and the ERS Maurizio Vignola Gold Medal in Asthma respectively during the Opening Ceremony of the ERS International Congress on Saturday 26 September in Amsterdam.

The awards were created to recognise excellence in the field and to provide a grant of €50,000 to support a researcher pursuing an active or innovative research project in COPD or asthma. Both awardees were selected for their previous achievements and the quality of their current or planned project.

Professor Annemie Schols’ career is characterised by her advocacy for connecting and bridging disciplines to advance the field of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). As director of the School for Nutrition, Toxicology and Metabolism (NUTRIM) at Maastricht University, her research focuses on understanding the different phenotypes of COPD.

Professor Stephen Holgate, Chair of the ERS Science Council, said: “Professor Schols has a great skill for bringing people together across disciplines to improve research into COPD and the lives of those who have the disease. Her work on how lifestyle factors are connected to disease severity is helping to change and shape the way we approach the topic.”

Professor Adnan Custovic has made major contributions to our understanding of the origins and natural history of asthma across the life-course, with an emphasis on prevention and translation for patient benefit.  He is Clinical Professor of Paediatric Allergy at Imperial College London, and leads the Asthma Endotype Discovery Theme at Farr Institute@HeRC.

Professor Holgate commented: “Professor Custovic is one of the most prolific researchers in the field and his datasets and secure e-Lab promote dialogue and coordination between world-leading experts across disciplines. His ability to build networks has allowed him to make great progress in asthma research.”

Find out more about the ERS Gold Medal in COPD: http://www.ersnet.org/component/content/article/4918-copd-gold-medal.html

Find out more about the ERS Maurizio Vignola Gold Medal in Asthma: http://www.ersnet.org/component/content/article/4919-vignola-asthma-gold-medal.html

Notes to editors:

The ERS Maurizio Vignola Gold Medal in Asthma is financially supported by Chiesi and the Chiesi Foundation.

The ERS Gold Medal in COPD is financially supported by Boehringer Ingelheim.

Press Office at ERS Congress in Amsterdam (Saturday 26, September – Wednesday 30, September 2015):

Lauren Anderson: +31655467578 or lauren.anderson@europeanlung.org

Sylvia Kruiniger: +31655467550

David Sadler: +31655467518