Scientific Program

Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Adult Infectious Diseases
King Fahad Specialist Hospital

Taiwan

Dr. Hui Hsuan Shih, is senior attending physician, division of chest medicine, Department of medicine, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Dr. Shih is also a Clinical Instructor in Internal Medicine; She is also a renowned Specialist of Lung Cancer at the Taiwan Society of Lung Cancer. Dr. Shih has an extensive experience in interventional bronchoscopy and bronchoscopic navigation.

Dr. Shih has done research in the fields of Mesenchymal Stem Cells, pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with severe AECOPD, correlational studies of skin toxicity and quality of life in patients with advance lung cancer receiving targeting therapy, micropapillary -predominant invasive adenocarcinoma, and psychological distress, social support, and care for female cancer patients in out-patient setting.

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Assistant Professor of Medicine
Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Deputy Executive Director Advanced Clinical Programs
Medical Services, King Abdulaziz Medical City-WR
King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences
Adjunct Professor, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Head, Pulmonary Division
Department of Internal Medicine
Dammam Medical Complex

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Cardiologist
Director, Echocardiography Fellowship Program
Cardiac Center
King Fahad Medical Military Complex

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary & Sleep Medicine
Head, Asthma and Airway Diseases Unit
Director, Adult Pulmonary Fellowship Program
Division of Pulmonary Medicine
Department of Medicine
Prince Sultan Military Medical City

Kuwait City, Kuwait

Consultant Radiologist
Aladan Hospital
Ministry of Health

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Professor of Medicine 
Head Rheumatology and Specialized Clinics
Department of Medicine
King Saud University

Madinah, Saudi Arabia

Assistant Professor of Medicine (Adj.)
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Consultant Pulmonologist / Interventional Pulmonologist
King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center

Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Internal Medicine,
Infectious Disease and Critical Care Medicine
Sulaiman AlHabib Hospital

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Associate Professor of Medicine
Consultant Pulmonary & Sleep Medicine
Al-Imam University

Kuwait City, Kuwait

Associate Professor of Medicine
College of Medicine, Kuwait University
Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Head, Respiratory Unit
Al Amiri Hospital

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Assistant Professor of Medicine (Adj.)
College of Medicine, Alfaisal University
Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Director, Sleep Medicine
Department of Medicine
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center

Abha, Saudi Arabia

Associated Professor of Medicine
Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Program director of GIM in Aseer Region
Head section Respiratory Unit
Aseer Central Hospital

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Head/ Consultant Allergy & Immunology
Department of Medicine
King Faisal Specialist Hospital &Research Center

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Professor of Pulmonary Medicine (Adj.)
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Pulmonary Medicine
Pulmonary Vascular Unit
Prince Sultan Military Medical City

Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Allergist/Immunologist
National Guard Health Affairs
Al Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal Hospital

Abu Dhabi, UAE

Consultant Cardiologist & Cardiac Electrophysiology
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi

Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine
Maternity and Children Hospital

Taiwan

Professor Huang graduated in Thoracic Surgery from Taipei Medical University, in Taipei, Taiwan; he obtained his PhD from the Institute of Traditional Medicine, National Yang-Ming University. Professor Huang is the chief of thoracic surgery at the department of surgery at Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of Taiwan.

He has done leading research work and has many advanced publications on pulmonary oncological disorders management, including cutting-edge trials on minimally invasive surgery and advance diagnostic and therapeutic biochemical and pathological research. Professor Huang has also done cellular oncology work for two years at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Thoracic Surgery Department, Houston Texas.

Belgium

Wim Wuyts was trained in Respiratory Medicine at the University of Leuven, Belgium. He obtained PhD in respiratory Medicine at the University of Leuven. He further specialised in interstitial lung diseases at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, UK. There he had the honour to work with Prof Ron du Bois, prof David Hansel and prof Athol Wells.

Prof Wuyts is an ILD specialist and head of the unit for interstitial lung diseases in university hospitals Leuven, the largest referral centre for ILD in Belgium. He is also head of the laboratory for pulmonary fibrosis in CHROMETA (department of chronic diseases and metabolism) at K U Leuven. Key research interests include prognostic and outcome biomarkers in lung fibrosis across ILD entities, including those associated with connective tissue disease. Furthermore, the architectural ultra characterisation using micro-CT scanning and transcriptomics in IPF and other fibrotic interstitial lung diseases.

He is author of scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals concerning interstitial lung diseases, lung transplantation, pulmonary hypertension and asthma. He participated as a member for ATS/JRS/ALAT guideline group for the diagnosis of hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and to the ATS/ERS guideline group for the treatment of sarcoidosis. He is currently the secretary of the European Respiratory Society group for idiopathic interstitial pneumonias in pulmonary fibrosis.

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Pulmonary Hypertension
Head, Pulmonary Medicine Unit
King Fahad Medical Military Complex

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Interstitial Lung Disease
King Abdulaziz Medical City

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Director Community and Public Health
Infection Prevention and Control Program
Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Designated Institution Official of Training
King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Adult Infectious Diseases
Department of Medicine
Security Forces Hospital Program

Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine
Department of Internal Medicine
King Abdulaziz National Guard Hospital

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Interventional Pulmonology
Department of Medicine
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Assistance Professor of Medicine
Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Airway diseases
King Saud University Medical City

Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Assistant Professor of Medicine
Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Interstitial Lung Disease
Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Pulmonary Hypertension
Lung Health Department
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Internal Medicine & Infectious Diseases
Prince Sultan Military Medical City

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Assistant Professor of Medicine
Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Asthma and Airway Diseases
King Abdulaziz University

Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
AlMoosa Specialist Hospital

Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
King Abdulaziz National Guard Hospital

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Radiologist, Body and Cardiothoracic Imaging
Head, Medical Imaging
International Medical Center
WellCare KAUST Health

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Pulmonary Hypertension
Director, Adult Pulmonary Fellowship Program
Director, Internal Medicine Residency Program
King Fahad Medical City

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonologist
Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare

Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Associate Professor & Consultant, Respiratory Care
Chief Operating Officer
Dammam Health Network

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Associate professor (Adj.)
Alfaisal University

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Associate Professor of Medicine (adj.)
MGH-Institute of Health Professions, Boston, MA, USA
Consultant, Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine
King Fahad Medical City

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Professor of Medicine (Adj.)
Indiana University School of Medicine
Consultant Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases
Director of Accreditation and Infection Control
Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Professor of Medicine
College of Medicine
King Abdulaziz University
Consultant Pulmonary Medicine and Interventional Pulmonology
Head of Bronchoscopy Unit
King Abdulaziz University Hospital

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Head, Pulmonary Division
Director, Pulmonary Fellowship Program
Security Forces Hospital Program

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Interventional Pulmonology
Head, Division Pulmonary Medicine
Prince Sultan Military Medical City

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Professor and Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
King Saud University for Health Sciences
Professor- McGill University (Adj.)
Head, Pulmonary Division,
Director, Sleep Disorders Center
King Abdulaziz Medical City
Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Assistant Professor of Medicine (Adj.)
College of Medicine, Alfaisal University
Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Asthma and Sleep Medicine
King Fahad Medical City

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Professor of Medicine
Consultant Adult Cardiology
Head, CHD Taskforce, SAPH
King Fahad Cardiac Center
King Saud University Medical City

Italy

Nicola Sverzellati graduated in Radiology at the University of Parma and obtained his PhD in “Advanced Cardio-Thoracic Imaging”. He is full professor of radiology head of the ‘Diagnostic Department’ at the University Hospital of Parma.

Professor Sverzellati is the radiology lead for imaging of chest disorders at the University Hospital of Parma. At present, his main current research topics are as follows: interstitial lung disease, lung cancer, and pulmonary arterial hypertension. He also took part in several research projects around lung cancer screening trials (e.g. the Multicentric Italian Lung Detection trial).

He is member of the Fleischner Society, president of the thoracic section of the italian society of diagnsotic and interventional radiology (SIRM), and past President of the European Society of Thoracic Imaging (ESTI).
He authored or co-authored 343 peer review articles, numerous abstracts for international congresses, and book chapters. He is also of editor of three books.

Italy

Dr. Roberto Badagliacca is an associate professor of cardiology at Sapienza University of Rome.
My research focus during and following my medical training has been on pulmonary arterial hypertension. I received advanced clinical and research training in cardiovascular diesease, cardiovascular imaging, and advanced heart failure. Since my appointment as Associate Professor of Cardiology, I have developed a specific interest in studying the pathophysiology, imaging phenotyping and risk stratification of pulmonary arterial hypertension. My research experience has culminated as Chairman Elect of the ESC Working Group on Pulmonary Circulation & Right Ventricular Function.

I have also been included as a Task Force Member of important Guidelines and Consensus documents Committees: Guidelines for the “Diagnosis and Treatment of Pulmonary Hypertension” for the European Society of Cardiology and European Respiratory Society (2020-2022); Consensus Statement on “Peri-operative Management of Patients with Pulmonary Hypertension and Right Heart Failure Undergoing Surgery” for the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation (2020-2022); Consensus Statement on “Risk Stratification in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension” for the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation (2022).

Spain

Dr. Eva Polverino is a specialist in respiratory diseases since 2003. After achieving a PhD in cardiorespiratory pathophysiology, she focused her work in the field of respiratory infections since 2007 at the University of Barcelona (Hospital Clinic). She is an associate professor of the faculty of medicine (University of Barcelona) between 2014 and 2016 and director of different doctoral theses and of 2 end-of-course projects. She is currently Head of the research Unit in Respiratory Infections of the Department of Respiratory Diseases at Hospital Vall d’Hebron in Barcelona (VHIR, Spain).
Her main lines of investigation are:

• Non cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFBE)
• Cystic fibrosis (CF)
• Antimicrobial resistance
• Primary and secondary Immunodeficiencies
• Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP)
• Respiratory physiotherapy

She is particularly active at European level as:
Director of ERS relationship with the EU. Head of the Assembly of respiratory infections of the European Respiratory Society until September 2023. Head of the Group of adult Cystic Fibrosis (ERS, Assembly 10) until September 2023. Member of the Executive Committee and Science Council of ERS. Spanish delegate for the HERMES project (Harmonising education in respiratory medicine for European specialists) in respiratory infections for ERS.
Co-chair of the European Registry of Bronchiectasis (EMBARC, www.bronchiectasis.eu) and clinical research collaboration of ERS. Co-investigator of different EU funded projects aimed at investigating new treatments, reduce antibiotic overuse and antimicrobial resistance control. Principal investigator and collaborator of numerous clinical trials in respiratory infections (new drugs for CAP, CF and NCFBE) and in respiratory physiotherapy. Editor for Springer and ERJ monograph, author of more than 130 scientific publications, reviewer of >10 scientific journals, and for the Spanish agency of Scientific awards/grants (ANEP). Frequent speaker and moderator at scientific congresses (ERS, SEPAR, etc.) and seminars/ classes regarding infections in respiratory diseases.

USA

Dr. Elliot Ho completed his Internal Medicine residency training at the
University of California Los Angeles – Olive View, and his Pulmonary and
Critical Care Medicine fellowship training at the University of California San
Francisco – Fresno. He pursued further sub-specialty training in Interventional
Pulmonology at the University of Chicago.

He is currently Assistant Professor at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda,
California. His research experience has included the use of thoracic
ultrasound, robotic bronchoscopy, and endobronchial ultrasound. With over 10
publications, Dr. Ho plans to continue pursuing his research interest in
navigational bronchoscopy and pleural disease. He hopes to expand the
accessibility of minimally invasive bronchoscopic techniques in robotic
bronchoscopy and bronchial lung volume reduction for emphysema.

Italy

Dr. Roberto Tonelli, MD, PhD, works as Assistant Professor in Respiratory Medicine in the Respiratory Intensive Care Unit of the University Hospital of Modena. He had training periods at the Respiratory Disease Unit of the Royal Brompton Hospital of London (UK), at the Interstitial Lung Disease Unit of the University of California San Francisco of San Francisco (CA, USA) and at the Intensive Care Unit of the Amsterdam University Medical Centers (NL)
During his career, he has been developing skills in the management of acute respiratory failure requiring non-invasive respiratory support and mechanical ventilation. His research activities mainly focused on respiratory mechanics and patient’s self-inflicted lung injury during non-assisted and assisted spontaneous breathing in patients with acute hypoxic respiratory failure (AHRF). Moreover, he has been spending great interest in the monitoring of patients with AHRF with the aim to identify early predictors of ventilatory failure. He also explored the mechanical properties of the fibrotic lung during, controlled, assisted and non-assisted spontaneous breathing. Since 2023 he holds the patent N 102021000007478 for the “Apparatus for detecting and monitoring of nasal pressure” released by the Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy and he is co-founder of the start-up IREC ltd. He co-founded the Experimental Pulmonology Laboratory of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia,
He is member of the European Respiratory Society and the Italian Society of Pulmonology.
He is currently involved in the design and conduction as PI and co-PI of several clinical trials exploring respiratory mechanics in patients with acute respiratory failure. Roberto Tonelli has published more than 90 peer reviewed papers and serves as associate editor, guest editor and reviewer for several major journals on respiratory diseases.

USA

Dr. Stephen Hobbs serves as Chief of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Radiology at the University of Kentucky with a joint appointment in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Hobbs has lectured at the national and international level on cardiothoracic imaging topics ranging from cardiothoracic surgery complications to diffuse lung disease. He has particular interests in interstitial lung disease as well as resident education and is co‐editor of Thoracic Imaging: A Core Review. He serves as a thoracic imaging section editor for the Annals of the American Thoracic Society and is a Fellow in the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT). Dr. Hobbs has recently finished his tenure as President of the Kentucky Chapter of the American College of Radiology for which he still serves as a Councilor.

In addition to his radiology interests, Dr. Hobbs has a strong imaging informatics and information technology focus including board certification in Clinical Informatics. He serves as the Vice-Chair for Radiology Informatics and Integrated Clinical Operations and as the Imaging Informatics Medical Director for the UK HealthCare Enterprise. He completed radiology residency at the University of Kentucky and subspecialty fellowship training in cardiothoracic radiology at the University of Colorado and National Jewish Health in Denver, Colorado.

Italy

Paolo Spagnolo is a full Professor of Respiratory Medicine and Director of the Residency Program in 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), 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 2008 and 2013, he was research fellow and subsequently Assistant Professor in Respiratory Medicine at the University Hospital of Modena where he joined the Centre for Rare Lung Diseases lead by Professor Luca Richeldi. Since 2015, Dr Spagnolo is a Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health of the University Hospital of Padua (Italy).

His main research interests include interstitial lung disease and sarcoidosis with emphasis on genetic predisposition, prediction of disease behaviour and clinical trials of novel therapies. Dr Spagnolo is the author or co-author of more than 200 journal articles, review articles and editorials. He is the chair of the Study Group on Sarcoidosis of the European Respiratory Society and the treasurer of the World Association of Sarcoidosis and Other Granulomatous diseases (WASOG).

Australia

Professor Shyamali Dharmage is a world-recognised leader in Life Course Epidemiology of Chronic Respiratory Diseases. She developed and leads the internationally recognized Allergy & Lung Health Unit, Centre for Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of Melbourne. She is the custodian and PI of two of the world’s key studies in allergies and lung health; including NHMRC funded Melbourne Atopy Cohort Study (MACS) and Tasmanian Longitudinal Health Study (TAHS). She has more than 550 publications and has been awarded >$75 million in research grants. Professor Dharmage is currently the top ranked obstructive lung diseases epidemiologist in Australia and third globally.  She is in the top 0.018% among 219,873 all obstructive lung disease researchers worldwide (Expertscape).

Her recognition of research excellence is evidenced by national and international advisory board invitations such as the Lancet Commissioner in COPD. She was also a member of the expert committee that developed the Australian COPD Blueprint and led its prevention chapter. In recognition of her contributions, she has been awarded the esteemed title of Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor, four prestigious Fellow titles (Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, European Respiratory Society, College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka, Dame Kate Campbell) and the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
King Fahad Medical City
Adult Cystic Fibrosis and Bronchiectasis

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine
Division of Pulmonary Medicine
Department of Medicine
King Abdulaziz Medical City

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Professor & Consultant Thoracic Surgeon
Deputy Head, Division of Thoracic Surgery
Department of Surgery
Associate Director, Thoracic Surgery Fellowship Program
King Saud University Medical City

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary& Critical Care Medicine
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Professor of Medicine
Consultant Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine
Almishari Hospital

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Chronic Ventilation
Director, Internal Medicine Residency Training Program
Assistant professor of Medicine (Adj.)
College of Medicine, Alfaisal University
Prince Sultan Military Medical City

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Associate Professor of Medicine
Consultant Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine
Department of Medicine
King Abdulaziz University

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Assistance Professor of Medicine
Consultant Pulmonology and Airway diseases
King Saud University Medical City

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Assistant Professor (adj.)
Division Head of Respirology
Director, Pulmonary Fellowship Training Program-WR
King Abdulaziz Medical City

Alkhobar, Saudi Arabia

Professor of Medicine
Division Head, Pulmonary Medicine
Senior Consultant Intensivist, Pulmonologist
Department of Medicine – KFHU
Al Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Professor & Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
King Abdulaziz Medical City
Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Professor & Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Chairman, Saudi Initiative for Asthma
Editor-in-Chief, Annals of Thoracic Medicine
King Abdulaziz Medical City

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Professor & Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
Vice-President, Saudi Thoracic Society
Chairman, Clinical Sciences Department
College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, UAE

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Professor & Consultant Pulmonary Medicine
President, Saudi Thoracic Society
Chairman, STS 2024 International Conference
King Saud University Medical City