Awardees will be formally recognized for their contributions to the field at the ATS 2024 International Conference.

RT’s Three Key Takeaways: 

  1. The American Thoracic Society’s 2024 Respiratory Health Awards recognize outstanding contributions in various aspects of respiratory health, including research, diagnosis, education, and advocacy. 
  2. Fifteen professionals from various geographical locations and medical specialties have been selected as recipients of the awards.
  3. The awardees will be formally recognized at the ATS 2024 International Conference, set to take place in San Diego.

The American Thoracic Society (ATS) has announced the recipients of the 2024 Respiratory Health Awards. All 15 awardees will be formally recognized at the ATS 2024 International Conference in San Diego next month. 

The awards recognize outstanding respiratory health contributions through various means, from research and diagnosis to education and advocacy. 

2024 Respiratory Health Award Recipients 

Edward Livingston Trudeau Medal: David S. Wilkes, MD (Charlottesville, Va)

This award recognizes major contributions to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of lung disease, critical illness, or sleep disorders through leadership in research, education, or clinical care and acknowledges exemplary professionalism, collegiality, and citizenship in the ATS community. 

Randall Curtis Humanism Award: Thanh H. Neville, MD, MSHS (Los Angeles)

This award recognizes and celebrates individuals whose work reflects the ideals espoused by Dr. Curtis throughout his career of compassion, humanism, and mentorship. The recipient should reflect these values in daily practice and to continuously strive to be exemplars of humanism in health care.

Burns Amberson Lecture: Moises Selman, MD (Mexico City, Mexico)

This award recognizes major contributions to clinical or basic research that have advanced our fundamental understanding of the basic, translational, or clinical approaches to respiratory disease, critical illness, or sleep disorders.

Distinguished Achievement Award: Jeffrey L. Curtis, MD, ATSF (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Sonye K. Danoff, MD, PhD, ATSF (Baltimore)

This award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding major contributions that advance the ATS’s mission. Awardees have made substantial contributions to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of lung disease, critical illness, or sleep disorders through advocacy, training, and mentorship. 

Jo Rae Wright Award for Outstanding Science: Georgios Kitsios, MD, PhD (Pittsburgh)

This award recognizes demonstrated potential for significant achievement and contributions. This award is aimed at the rising generation of individuals who will be tomorrow’s leaders in science.

Public Service Award: Raj Kumar, MD (Boston)

This award recognizes contributions to public and population health equity related to, for example, improvement of air quality, eradication of tobacco usage, prevention of lung disease, advocacy, improved management of communicable respiratory diseases, or improvement in the ethical delivery, and access to health care in areas related to lung diseases, sleep health, or critical care. 

World Lung Health Award: Sundeep Santos Salvi, MD, PhD (Pune, India)

This award recognizes contributions to improving world lung health in translational or implementation research, health care delivery, continuing education or care of patients with lung disease, or related political advocacy with a special emphasis on efforts that have the potential to eliminate gender, racial, ethnic, or economic health disparities worldwide.

Recognition Award for Scientific Accomplishments: Scott H. Randell, PhD (Chapel Hill, N.C.), Larissa A. Shimoda, MS, PhD (Baltimore), Carol Feghali-Bostwick, MS, PhD (Charleston, S.C.), and Patricia J. Sime, MD, ATSF (Richmond, Va.) 

This award recognizes outstanding scientific contributions in basic or clinical arenas to enhance the understanding, prevention, and treatment of respiratory disease, critical illness, or sleep disorders and recognizes exemplary professionalism, collegiality, and citizenship through mentorship and scientific involvement in the ATS community.

Outstanding Educator Award: Tisha S. Wang, MD, ATSF (Los Angeles)

This award recognizes lifetime achievements and excellence in clinical or research education and mentoring in pulmonary, critical care, or sleep medicine. 

Research Innovation and Translation Achievement Award: Martha A. Q. Curley, RN, PhD (Philadelphia)

This awrd recognizes outstanding contributions to the advancement of respiratory research focused on specific innovations in practice, policy, and health care delivery. This includes but is not limited to drug/device discovery and development, implementation, and regulatory science, as well as basic, translational, clinical, public health, and health services research. 

Outstanding Clinician Award: Moira L. Aitken, MD (Seattle) 

This award recognizes an individual who has made substantial contributions in the clinical care of patients with lung disease on a local or national level. 

Biographies for the recipients of the 2024 Respiratory Health Awards can be found here.

Photo 51632576 © Nikkytok | Dreamstime.com