BTS President and President-elect 2024

Left: Professor Nick Maskell Right: Professor Robina Coker

Professor Nick Maskell

Nick Maskell is Professor of Respiratory Medicine at The University of Bristol (UoB), and has been a Consultant at North Bristol NHS Trust since 2004. He is the head of the UoB Academic Respiratory Unit and leads their Bristol NIHR-BRC Respiratory theme. He is recognised as a national and international leader in respiratory and pleural research and was recently made an NIHR Senior Investigator.

Over his academic career, he has gained over £40 million in research funding, and has led multiple NIHR-funded randomised trials which have substantially improved respiratory practice, policy, and patient care. He continues to collaborate with a large national research network, which now includes over 80 Trusts, and mentors a wide range of junior clinical academics.

In parallel to the above, Nick has had an enormous impact on training and guideline-based care. He has chaired multiple clinical guidelines which have impacted treatment worldwide and, as an adviser to the RCP and NPSA, he continues to lead developments in patient safety. He has had a central role in the development of national and international thoracic ultrasound (TUS) training standards, and has helped to drive its use in clinical practice becoming mandatory.

He has a strong track record of delivery for BTS and has enjoyed Chairing numerous guidelines (including the previous and current BTS pleural guidelines), setting up and running short BTS courses, acting as Associate Editor of Thorax, sitting on a number of BTS committees, and being a previous BTS Treasurer.

Professor Maskell commented:

‘I am delighted and honoured to have been elected to serve the BTS in this role. It comes at a critical time for the NHS, respiratory healthcare professionals and our patients, all of whom are facing huge challenges. I will do my best to make sure our voice is heard by policy makers.’

Professor Robina Coker

Robina is Professor of Practice in Respiratory Medicine at Hammersmith Hospital and Imperial College London. She has run the interstitial lung disease (ILD) service at Hammersmith since 1999. Robina was Clinical Director of the NIHR North West London (NWL) Comprehensive Local Research Network from 2010 to 2014, and Clinical Director of the NIHR NWL Clinical Research Network from 2014 to 2024. Robina was President of the Harveian Society of London in 2022.

Robina has worked closely with the BTS since 1998, when she was the junior doctor representative on the Education Committee. She has been a member of the Standards of Care Committee; chair of the BTS Air Travel Working Party and later the Clinical Statement Group; and Honorary BTS Treasurer. She was also a founding member of the BTS Lung Disease Registry Programme. Robina was awarded an individual Bronze Medal from the Royal Aeronautical Society in 2019 in recognition of her work on air travel safety, and in 2021 she received the BTS Meritorious Service Award. She currently represents the Society on the NHSE Specialised Respiratory Commissioning Clinical Reference Group (CRG).

'It is an immense privilege and honour to be elected as President Elect for the British Thoracic Society. Representing 4,500 lung specialists from around the UK, the Society leads on improving standards of care for patients, while raising awareness of the impact of lung disease and supporting respiratory teams with educational and professional development. I look forward very much to serving the Society and wider respiratory community in this capacity.'