This event has ended. Recordings of the event are available to watch below.
Content Table
On Sunday 12 March 2023 we held a free online patient conference on bronchiectasis.
The conference was for people living with bronchiectasis and their family members and carers. It offered an opportunity to understand more about the disease and how to manage it. The event was also useful to healthcare professionals and anyone with an interest in bronchiectasis.
There were presentations from both patients and medical experts. They covered the following topics:
Attendees had the opportunity to ask questions to the speakers.
The programme was developed by members of the ELF Bronchiectasis Patient Advisory Group and clinicians from EMBARC: Bronchiectasis Patient Conference 2023 Programme.
The conference was held in English with subtitles.
We provided a live transcription service to allow attendees to follow the conference using subtitles in their own language. The following languages were available: Arabic, Bengali, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian (Bahasa), Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog, Tamil, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese.
Michal Shteinberg received her MD and a PhD in biochemistry from the Technion-Israel institute of technology. She trained in internal medicine and pulmonology, with a Fellowship in bronchiectasis and adult CF.
Prof. Shteinberg is Head of Bronchiectasis and Adult Cystic Fibrosis Unit, Carmel Medical Center, and the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, the B. Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Haifa, Israel.
She is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Faculty of medicine at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, and a member of the executive committee of the Israeli Society for Tuberculosis and mycobacterial diseases.
Her main research interests are bronchiectasis and its overlap with other airway diseases, mainly rhinosinusitis, and connective tissue diseases, as well as adult CF.
Prof. Shteinberg is a member of EMBARC management and heading Patient Activities Work package.
Kjeld Hansen was the Chair of the European Lung Foundation 2020-23. He is an experienced patient advocate and has been involved in a wide range of research and advocacy activities to improve care for respiratory patients. Kjeld has moderate to severe asthma. In his professional life, he works at Kristiania University College Oslo, Norway and is also associated with Copenhagen Business School in Fredericksburg, Denmark.
Liora is an internal medicine and pulmonology specialist at Soroka University Medical Center in charge of the bronchiectasis and adult CF transitional clinic. Liora is passionate about bronchiectasis and pulmonary infections.
James Chalmers is Asthma and Lung UK Professor of Respiratory Research and Honorary Consultant Physician.
As Professor of Respiratory Research and group leader at the Bronchiectasis Research Centre at the University of Dundee. Chair of EMBARC, The European Bronchiectasis network., James is chief investigator on a number of multi-centre bronchiectasis trials and runs a specialist clinic for bronchiectasis patients in the East of Scotland.
Barbara Crossley has been a member of the ELF Bronchiectasis Patient Advisory Group since 2017.
She has helped organise four Bronchiectasis Patient Conferences, collaborated with EMBARC researchers on ongoing projects, helped formulate patient surveys and patient-friendly information for the European Lung Foundation website, including a patient self-care guide.
She has lifelong bronchiectasis and is a writer who lives in the Peak District in Derbyshire, UK.
Katerina Dimakou is a Chest Physician, MD, PhD, FCCP and Director of 5th Respiratory Department and Director of Bronchiectasis Outpatients' Clinic, ‘’SOTIRIA” Chest Diseases Hospital of Athens.
Katerina is a member of EMBARC (The European Bronchiectasis Network) Steering Committee and the ERS bronchiectasis guidelines committee.
She is also a member of COPD and Asthma working group of the Hellenic Thoracic Society and has received distinctions and awards of the Hellenic Thoracic Society on the topic of airway diseases (Bronchiectasis, COPD, Asthma).
Dr Andrea Gramegna is an assistant professor at Milan University and consultant in pulmonology at the Policlinico Hospital.
He spent a large part of his clinical activity in one of the largest Bronchiectasis programmes in Europe under the mentorship of Prof. Stefano Aliberti and has worked as a consultant in a high dependency unit treating patients with COVID-19 and severe respiratory failure.
Dr Gramegna has contributed to clinical and translational research in bronchiectasis. Recently he has been involved in the creation of a research network on NTM, both in patients with cystic fibrosis and other chronic conditions, and he has been invited to take part in the scientific board of the Italian registry of pulmonary NTM.
Donna managed small businesses and provided support services for university students with disabilities. She is now retired, exercises regularly and enjoys travelling.
She was diagnosed with bronchiectasis more than 40 years ago, and hopes that all people with bronchiectasis find their way to leading a full life while navigating chronic disease.
A Lecturer and Respiratory Physiotherapist with passion for airway clearance management in people with muco-obstructive diseases, in particular bronchiectasis. Beatriz works at Universidad San Jorge / Hospital Clínico Universitario Lozano Blesa , Zaragoza, Spain. Her line of research focuses on how to facilitate the implementation of airway clearance techniques as a routine treatment and how to promote long-term adherence.
Danielle is a Physiotherapist at Carmel Hospital Haifa Israel. She is Inpatient Pulmonary Rehabilitation Coordinator and part of the Respiratory Physiotherapist Clalit Home Treatment Team.
Danielle has a specialist interest in treatment and management of bronchiectasis within the acute and chronic settings.
Professor Ahmed (ami) Kantar is Head of Pediatric Unit and Pediatric Asthma and Cough Center, Istituti Ospedalieri Bergamaschi (Bergamo) and a Professor at University Vita-Salute San Raffaele in Milan. He currently co-chairs the ERS CRC Children's Bronchiectasis Education, Advocacy and Research Network (CHILD BEAR NET) with Professor Anne Chang. He has collaborated in developing ERS guidelines on Bronchiectasis in Children.
Eliza holds a PhD in Criminal Law and works as a barrister in Greece.
She has been a member of the ELF Bronchiectasis Patient Advisory Group since 2021 and has engaged with its activities and represented it in different projects and working groups over these years.
Dr Fiona Mosgrove is a GP with special interest in respiratory medicine. Fiona has been a GP since 2012 and works in a large practice in Aberdeen city. She began to develop a respiratory special interest in 2018, studying for a postgraduate diploma and then a masters in respiratory medicine, with a project focused on the microbiology of bronchiectasis exacerbations. She sits on the primary care respiratory society education committee, the ACT on COPD working group for Scotland and is part of the international primary care group sentinel network question and answer group.
Hilary Pinnock is Professor of Primary Care Respiratory Medicine, The University of Edinburgh. She is also involved in the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research, NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Respiratory Health (RESPIRE) and the Allergy and Respiratory Research Group.
I was diagnosed with bronchiectasis of the middle right lobe when I was 8 years old having suffered from chronic cough and wheezing since I was five months old.
I am currently 16 studying for A levels in Biology, Chemistry and Maths and I am also doing my gold Duke Of Edinburgh’s award.
In autumn 2023 I joined the ELF council.
I play the trumpet and sing in a variety of bands, ensembles and choirs in school and with a music school on a Saturday. I also enjoy cycling and hiking in the local countryside.
Head of Respiratory Department, Associate Professor, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Dr Arietta Spinou is a Lecturer in Cardiorespiratory Physiotherapy Practice and Research at King’s College London, UK. She is a Specialist Respiratory Physiotherapist and has extensive research experience, with a special interest in bronchiectasis.
As part of her PhD work, Dr Spinou developed the Bronchiectasis Health Questionnaire, and for the first time objectively assessed cough frequency in a group of people with bronchiectasis.
Currently, Dr Spinou co-leads the ERS Task Force for the airway clearance techniques in bronchiectasis.
This event was supported by EMBARC, a pan-European network committed to promoting clinical research and education in bronchiectasis.
View details and recordings of our 2022 Bronchiectasis Patient Conference
ELF does not charge for its events and materials. We want to make sure they are available to anybody who wishes to join or use them. To ensure we can keep doing this we ask that those who can afford to pay to make a donation. We are grateful to everyone who supports us in this way and helps lung health patients to understand more about their condition and have their voices heard.
EMBARC is a European Respirtory Society (ERS) CLinical Research Collaboration (CRC) in the field of bronchiectasis. Clinicians from EMBARC have been involved in the planning of this event. ELF received funding from EMBARC to hold this event.
ERN-LUNG is the European Reference Network for rare respiratory diseases. It is a network of European patients and healthcare providers dedicated to ensuring and promoting excellence in care and research to the benefit of patients affected by rare respiratory diseases.
