About Us

Head: Elisabeth Bel
Secretary: Mario Cazzola

Although this Assembly focuses mostly on asthma and increasingly on COPD, members also have an interest in other diseases with an allergic and immunological component. A substantial number of pharmacologists and basic scientists have joined clinicians. As the treatment of asthma and COPD remains mainly a pharmacological approach, the Airway Pharmacology and Treatment Group is very active in this field. Many of the members are actively involved in trials of new medications or in the development of guidelines for the treatment of severe therapy-resistant asthma. The Airway Regulation, Provocation and Monitoring Group is into examining how inflammatory mechanisms in the airways lead to dysfunctional regulation and physiology using for instance noninvasive markers. The field of immunology is advancing rapidly, particularly in our understanding of cellular and molecular backgrounds of allergy, and activities within the Allergy and Immunology Group reflect this.

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Group 05.01 Airway Pharmacology and Treatment

Chair: Clive P. Page
Secretary: Guy Brusselle

Most airway and lung diseases are not cured and treatment is often through pharmacological agents. This Group, being a part of the Clinical Allergy and Immunology Assembly, historically has focussed on the pharmacology of drugs used in asthma therapy and the development of scientific rationales for new drug development. Therefore, it covers all aspects of drug development from basic science through animal models to early phase 1/2 studies. This area has involved collaboration between clinicians, pharmacologists and more recently molecular biologists and biochemists. Our Group has also begun to see an increased interest in severe steroid-insensitive asthma and other lung diseases, specifically COPD, where current treatments are relatively ineffective. We are also concerned with innovative therapeutic approaches to disorders that have been somewhat ignored in the past, such as pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension. Moreover, a cooperation with experts in infectious diseases is desirable due to increasing use of antibiotics for lung disease. In particular, the investigation of the correlation between the pulmonary pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of antibiotics is now essential.

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Group 05.02 Airway Regulation, Provocation and Monitoring

Chair: Ildiko Horvath
Secretary: Antonio Spanevello

Our mission is the advancement and dissemination of knowledge on the mechanisms and therapeutic and monitoring strategies in airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness. We achieve this goal through: discussion at meetings, encouraging cooperation among ERS Assemblies and Groups with similar interests; promoting research; participating in Task Forces, and also in the educational activities of the Society. Our Group provides a forum for members to collaborate and exchange ideas for the purpose of advancing knowledge and understanding about particular issues concerning the pathomechanism and monitoring of different aspects of airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness. If you wish to comment on issues related to strategic planning, please e-mail us with your thoughts and advice. Your suggestions and recommendations will direct the future course of our Group. All ERS members are welcome to join this Group.

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Group 05.03 Allergy and Immunology

Chair: J.C. Christian Virchow
Secretary: Renaud Louis

The innate and adaptive immune systems have essential roles in the homeostasis of airway and pulmonary functioning. They are crucial in the defence against invasive microorganisms. The chronic and allergic immune reactions play a role in several airway diseases, including asthma, COPD and airway infectious diseases. The activities of our Group focus on the inflammatory/immune reactions in relation to airway diseases. Our members are involved in studies looking at the functioning and regulation of cells of the immune system, including pulmonary macrophages, eosinophils, neutrophils, mast cells, and lymphocytes but also constitutive airway cells, such as epithelial cells, smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts. Of particular importance is to tease out the different clinical phenotypes of airways diseases and to relate them to inflammatory/immune characteristics as well as genetic susceptibity to environmental stimuli (allergens or pollutants). The activities of our members range from basic science to clinical practice, as well as from mouse to man. We have close cooperation with several other Groups and Assemblees and members of our Group participate in various ERS Task Forces. Our Group organises many sessions (oral presentations, poster discussions, thematic posters) during the annual Congress, on the basis of submitted abstracts. We hope that many new members will join us and we look foward to your proposals for Symposia, Task Forces and Research Seminars.