Bronchiectasis Question Time

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.

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.

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.

Dr Josje Altenburg works as a pulmonologist at the Amsterdam University Medical Centres, where she is involved in clinical care of patients with Cystic Fibrosis, Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia, bronchiectasis and other infectious lung diseases.

She participates in national and international guideline development, national education of physicians, and in international working groups in bronchiectasis, education of physicians, and in international working groups in bronchiectasis.

Natalie Lorent is a consultant Pulmonologist and Clinical Infectiologist working at the Respiratory Medicine department of the University Hospitals Leuven, and clinical lecturer at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.

Her clinical and research interests focus on respiratory infections (particularly mycobacterial infections), bronchiectasis and cystic fibrosis.

She has a passion for translating science to clinical practice to improve outcome for patients.

Amelia Shoemark is a Researcher at the University of Dundee. Her research focuses on bronchiectasis with a specialist interest is in the role of cilia in the lungs. She is part of the EMBARC2 committee where she leads the EMBARC BRIDGE project. An international project to understand different types of infection and inflammation in the lungs in bronchiectasis in order to try to target the right treatments to the right people.

Amelia conducted her PhD at Imperial College London and trained as a clinical scientist at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London where she continues to lead the diagnostic laboratories for the inherited disorder Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia.

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.

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.