Programme highlight: Airway diseases

Airway diseases at Congress:

Airway diseases is one of the main eight areas at this year's ERS International Congress. Of equal interest to clinicians, basic scientists and allied healthcare professionals, the activities focussing on airway diseases are comprehensive and varied – covering adult and paediatric areas of interest.

A range of educational and scientific sessions will be available in multiple formats, such as: a postgraduate course on 'Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease', a state of the art session on 'airways disease', a meet the expert session on 'Endoscopic lung volume reduction', a skills workshop on 'Body plethysmography' and a lunchtime session on 'New biologics for asthma: which patients, what agents, what results, at what cost?', plus much more.*

Use the programme to find all related sessions

To search for sessions specifically linked to the topic of respiratory critical care you can use the online search tool; simply access the online programme, click on 'Advance' and select 'Airway diseases' from the 'Track' options. The programme can also be used to search for keywords, speakers and dates.

Hear from ERS officers

ERS has a dedicated assembly for airway diseases – made up of healthcare professionals and scientists from around the world and led by experts in this field; head of the ERS Assembly on Airway Diseases Professor Antonio Spanevello (AS), assembly secretary Professor Omar Usmani (OU), and the early-career representative Dr Alexander Mathioudakis (AM) offer us some insight into this year's event.

What can professionals specialising in this area expect to gain from attending this year's Congress?

AS: For the first time, the Airway Diseases specialists will meet as an Assembly with a new name: 'Airway Disease, Asthma and COPD'. This is important because the Assemblies activities will be much more focused upon the two most important diseases of the lung. Not only asthma and COPD, but also cough, bronchiectasis and others will be the subject of scientific sessions, from basic science to clinical aspects of the diseases. The different format of the Symposia will also be very attractive for all attendees, with particular attention to the young members.

What in your opinion will be the popular topics relating to airway diseases at this year's Congress and what will be particular highlight for you?

OU: The popular topics this year will be the positioning of the new monoclonal therapies in the treatment algorithm of asthma, the continued debate about the role of eosinophils in guiding therapy in asthma and COPD, the role of the microbiome in airway disease, and novel biomarkers for asthma and COPD.
For me a particular highlight is year will be the state-of-the-art session on Airway Diseases, which will highlight the latest developments and controversies in airways disease.

As an early-career professional with a focus on airway diseases, why is the upcoming Congress valuable to career development?

AM: Our understanding of airway diseases, the most prevalent and vastly burdensome respiratory problems, is limited but fast-advancing. This year's Annual Congress provides ample, fantastic, relevant educational opportunities, delivered by world-leading experts, tailored to the needs of early-career clinicians and scientists. The balanced focus on evidence-based clinical practice, as well as cutting-edge clinical, translational and basic research will facilitate the development of a holistic understanding and approach towards airway diseases.

Several high-quality post-graduate courses (such as 'Asthma and COPD', 'Lung function testing', 'COPD exacerbations', 'Asthma phenotyping' or 'Heart-lung interaction'), and Skills Workshops (including 'Endoscopy' and 'Body plethysmography') are an excellent starting point, providing a combination of clinical updates, high-impact novel research findings, important evidence gaps and controversies.

Being the largest global respiratory meeting, the ERS International Congress attracts research of the highest-quality, and provides an excellent platform for scientific discussion and promotion of Science, making it a valuable educational opportunity for early-career professionals. To make the most of it, participants should devote adequate time before the Congress to study its extensive scientific programme and select sessions relevant to their interests and training needs.

You can join the ERS Assembly on Airway Diseases using our online platform myERS and ensure that you are kept up to date with developments and opportunities in this area.

*Note: Educational sessions (postgraduate courses, skills workshops, professional development workshops and meet the expert sessions) can be attended at an additional cost to the standard registration fee