British Thoracic Society celebrates the Lecture Award winners for 2023

British Thoracic Society (BTS), Asthma + Lung UK (A+LUK) and the British Association for Lung Research (BALR) are delighted to announce the winners of the Lecture Awards for 2023.

Awarded for the first time this year, the Lecture Awards recognise the achievements of established respiratory researchers with an excellent track record of achievement in respiratory research. The winners of both the BTS/A+LUK Lecture Award and the BTS/BALR Lecture Award were invited to present a lecture as part of a dedicated session at the Winter Meeting, which takes place today.

On the awards, Professor James Chalmers on behalf of the British Thoracic Society commented,

“These new awards are a great opportunity to celebrate the excellence of UK Respiratory Science. These prestigious awards are an exciting addition to the BTS Winter Meeting and will become an annual event recognising outstanding mid-career researchers in clinical, translational and basic science.”

This year, the winner of the BTS/A+LUK award is Dr Hannah Durrington. Dr Durrington is a Senior Clinical Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Respiratory Medicine at the University of Manchester, as well as a Clinician Scientist at the Medical Research Council. The title of the lecture being presented by Dr Durrington is ‘Asthma… time is of the essence’. It looks at the evidence that both management and diagnosis of asthma are impacted by time-of-day, and the potential for novel therapeutics to address this. Dr Durrington also covers the increased risk of asthma in night-shift workers, and how chronotherapy can be harnessed in asthma treatment.

Dr Samantha Walker, Director of Research and Innovation at Asthma + Lung UK, said:  

“I'm really pleased to see Dr Durrington's hard work looking at the link between asthma and the body clock, circadian rhythms and sex hormones being recognised by this Lecture Award.

“Hannah’s work, which shows that asthma treatments work better at different times of the day, has the potential to improve the effectiveness of existing treatments and will enable better asthma symptom control.

“Asthma + Lung UK is proud to fund Dr Durrington as part of our 'asthma is worse for women' programme. But, not only has she made a significant contribution to the field of respiratory research, Dr Durrington is also generous with her time and often shares her work with the charity's supporters who enjoy the opportunity to learn about such an interesting and relevant topic.”

The winner of the BTS/BALR award for 2023 is Dr Marko Nikolic, who presents his lecture ‘Immune and lung epithelial development in health and disease.’ Dr Nikolic is a Principal Research Fellow and Honorary consultant in respiratory medicine at University College London, has his PhD in developmental/ stem cell biology, and is an MRC Clinician Scientist Fellow. The presentation by Dr Nikolic at the Winter Meeting covers recent findings in human foetal lung cell and immune development, and immune and epithelial responses challenge of the SARS-CoV- 2 coronavirus strain in different ages, including young seronegative adults.

Professor Karl Staples, Chair of the BALR added,

“We are excited to be able to highlight the excellent respiratory science research taking place in the UK and support the next generation of respiratory researchers.  These awards are important markers of esteem for these historically underserved mid-career researchers that will assist in future applications for grants and more senior academic positions.”

BTS is proud to collaborate with A+LUK and BALR to introduce a new award to recognise exceptional respiratory professionals during their career, and to be able to honour such an achievement at the BTS Winter Meeting conference. Aimed at supporting thousands of respiratory professionals through access to the latest innovations, discussions, and networking opportunities, the BTS Winter Meeting will continue to annually celebrate science and research in respiratory health. Together, members of the Society will continue to work towards excellence in patient care, and the ultimate goal of better lung health for all.