Kim Dirks is Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Kim began her academic career with a BSc in Physics and Meteorology from McGill University prior to immigrating to New Zealand to complete a PhD in Physics involving the modelling of road traffic air pollution. Her first academic position was in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences where she contributed to physics teaching in the faculty’s health professional programmes and redirected her research in air pollution towards human health, studying exposure, both at the individual and at the population level. In 2020, Kim joined the university’s Faculty of Engineering, motivated by a desire to delve further ‘upstream’, researching the design of urban civil transport infrastructure and green space, exploring both transport mode choice and exposure to air pollution, building on learnings from research across both science and health. Throughout her career, Kim has held academic leadership roles across STEM disciplines, including Head of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences and Associate Dean Postgraduate Research in the Faculty of Engineering. She has also been a long-serving member of the Steering Group of the Te Manahua New Zealand Academic Women in Leadership Programme, a national programme aimed at developing women leaders across the university sector.

BMedSci BMBS MSc AFRACMA FRCP FRACP PhD FThorSoc Prof Natasha Smallwood is a consultant respiratory physician at the Alfred Hospital (Melbourne, Australia), Professor of Respiratory Medicine and Head of the Chronic Respiratory Disease Research Group at Monash University (Melbourne, Australia). In addition to her respiratory qualifications, she holds postgraduate qualifications in Medical Leadership, Epidemiology and Palliative Care. Prof Smallwood has authored over 140 publications and been awarded approximately $11 million as major research grants. She has clinical and research interests in severe lung disease, particularly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and interstitial lung disease. Prof Smallwood is the incoming President for the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, a Board Director for the Victorian Doctors Health Program (Australia), and holds multiple leadership roles. She is a taskforce member for various national and international respiratory guidelines. She recently worked with the Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Healthcare to develop the first ever national clinical care standard in respiratory medicine for people with COPD.

Dr. Irina Petrache is chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine and associate vice president of faculty development at National Jewish Health, Denver, Colorado, where she is professor of medicine who holds the Wollowick Endowed Chair in COPD Research. She is also professor of medicine at the University of Colorado, where she co-directs the T32 Training Program in Pulmonary Sciences. She is a member of the American Thoracic Society (ATS), where she has served in numerous roles and committees, including as chair of the ATS International Conference. In 2021, Dr. Petrache was elected as an Executive Board Member of the American Thoracic Society; she will serve as ATS President in 2024-2025. She is an alumna of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine program. Dr. Petrache received several awards for her academic activities, including the Elizabeth Rich Award; The Golden Lung Award for excellence in teaching; Harrington Scholar-Innovator Award; Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Chancellor’s Prestigious External Award Recognition and the Research Frontiers Trailblazer Award. As part of her post-doctoral training, Dr. Petrache completed clinical and research fellowships in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Petrache is board certified in internal medicine, clinical care medicine, and pulmonary medicine. Dr. Petrache held faculty positions as assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University and associate professor and then tenured professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine, where she served as Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Petrache’s clinical interests include COPD, emphysema, sarcoidosis, acute lung injury, cystic fibrosis, and pulmonary hypertension. She leads a laboratory at National Jewish Health focused on the pathogenesis of emphysema and pulmonary vascular remodeling in COPD, as well as distal lung injury and repair in response to vaping, cigarette smoking, and acute viral infections.

Prof Johnston is a public health physician and environmental epidemiologist specialising in air quality hazards including air pollution and airborne allergens. She leads the environmental health research group at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research at the University of Tasmania, and is the lead investigator of the Centre for Safe Air, a NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence. Prof Johnston is a recognised global leader in fire research, health impacts of outdoor smoke, public health communication and interventions for mitigating harm.

BMedSci BMBS MSc AFRACMA FRCP FRACP PhD FThorSoc Prof Natasha Smallwood is a consultant respiratory physician at the Alfred Hospital (Melbourne, Australia), Professor of Respiratory Medicine and Head of the Chronic Respiratory Disease Research Group at Monash University (Melbourne, Australia). In addition to her respiratory qualifications, she holds postgraduate qualifications in Medical Leadership, Epidemiology and Palliative Care. Prof Smallwood has authored over 140 publications and been awarded approximately $11 million as major research grants. She has clinical and research interests in severe lung disease, particularly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and interstitial lung disease. Prof Smallwood is the incoming President for the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, a Board Director for the Victorian Doctors Health Program (Australia), and holds multiple leadership roles. She is a taskforce member for various national and international respiratory guidelines. She recently worked with the Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Healthcare to develop the first ever national clinical care standard in respiratory medicine for people with COPD.