Breathe Clean Air Patient Conference 2026

Phil has lived with asthma for over 60 years. He has experience in public health research with the National Institute for Health Research as an Assistant Director and has volunteered as a patient representative for Asthma UK.

Phil has worked alongside the British Thoracic Society, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network to produce UK guidelines on diagnosing, monitoring and managing asthma.

Barbara Hoffmann is a Professor of Environmental Epidemiology at the Heinrich-Heine-University of Düsseldorf in Germany. Her research focuses on the investigation of acute and chronic cardiopulmonary, metabolic, and neurological health effects of air pollution and noise. She is also a founding member and past Chair of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology Europe (ISEE) Chapter.

Ulrike Gehring is the Chair of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Environment and Health Committee. She is also an Associate Professor at the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences at Utrecht University, The Netherlands. Her research focusses on the impact of the environment on child health, with a special focus on the long-term health effects of ambient air pollution and the determinants of asthma and allergies.

Dr Gaillard is the current Chair of the ERS Paediatric Asthma and Allergy Assembly and co-chair of the recently funded ERS Clinical Research Collaboration (EXPLAIN-IT), which investigates the role of the exposome in respiratory health. He is a Paediatric Respiratory and Asthma Consultant and Clinical Service Lead at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, as well as an Associate Professor at the University of Leicester, UK.

Agnes Boots is an Associate Professor of Respiratory Toxicology at Maastricht University.

Caroline Love was born with oesophageal atresia and tracheo-oesophageal fistula, a rare anomaly that has left her with chronic respiratory disease. She works as a dermatologist in the UK and volunteers for TOFS and EAT patient support groups, as well as serving as a patient group representative for ELF.

Pirkko Moisio is an experience expert with the Finnish Lung Health Association, speaking from the perspective of someone who experiences symptoms related to indoor air. She hopes that everyone has access to clean air to breathe.

Anna Dworakowska is the co-founder and Executive Director of Polish Smog Alert, which unites over 60 grassroots air quality initiatives across Poland. She has worked on air quality improvement policies since 2012, including regulatory reforms and financial programs driving the energy transformation of homes. She has co-led successful campaigns that significantly raised public awareness of air pollution and led to the adoption of groundbreaking air quality legislation and financial tools. Reforms initiated by Polish Smog Alert have resulted in a substantial improvement in air quality, with many cities and towns experiencing over an 80% reduction in the number of smog days. In 2023, Polish Smog Alert became a finalist for the Earthshot Prize, launched by Prince William, in recognition of the organization’s work on air quality improvement in Poland.

Aidan is a Senior Scientist at the Greenpeace Research Laboratories, based at the University of Exeter, UK. With a background in climate and geographical sciences, he has over a decade of experience in air quality research. At Greenpeace, he provides scientific advice and analytical support to offices worldwide. His research focuses on atmospheric pollution, its causes, and potential health impacts, using a combination of field and laboratory measurements and computer modelling.

Dr Robin Gore is a Consultant Respiratory Physician at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust. His main clinical interests are severe asthma and allergic airways disease. He also has research interests in local clinical trials delivery and aeroallergen exposure, the latter of which he studied during his PhD at the University of Manchester. Dr Gore serves as Clinical Co-Lead for the NHS England Respiratory Network (East of England), overseeing service improvement projects in areas such as MART therapy roll-out, housing, asthma HCP education, and other key respiratory subspecialties.

As patient advocate and spokesperson of APEPOC, I am very worried about climate change that acts as a risk multiplier for COPD and other respiratory diseases. The effects of climate change also widen existing health and social inequities.

Dr Tsikrika Stamatoula (Mata), MD, MSc, PhD, is a Chest Physician at Sotiria Hospital in Athens. She is Chair of ERS Group 6.3 for Tobacco Cessation, President of the Greek Pulmonology Association, and Secretary-Treasurer of the UEMS Pneumology Section.

Juan Fuertes has been a patient advocate since 2010, beginning with the Spanish National Pulmonary Hypertension Association. Since then, he has worked with PHA Europe, received the Periwinkle Pioneer Award from PHA USA, and studied health technology assessment at the London School of Economics. He has served on the boards of the European Patients Forum and the ELF Council. Currently, he is part of the pool of experts at the European Medicines Agency and works for FENAER, the Spanish Federation of Airways Diseases.

Satu Mustonen is a Senior Advisor for the Organization for Respiratory Health in Finland.

Shane Fitch is the CEO of the Lovexair Foundation. She is a global patient advocate in respiratory health with over two decades of experience in early detection, holistic patient care, access to treatment, citizen-focused prevention, and digital health transformation. Founder of Lovexair and HappyAir, she leads international initiatives linking lung health, technology and environmental action, including the global campaign #CleanAirHealthyLives.