The 2021 Honor and Memorial Lectures and Annual Awards cover the areas of education, critical care, cardiopulmonary physiology, interventional medicine, mechanical ventilation, COPD, and more. This year, an inaugural lecture honoring Richard S. Irwin, MD, Master FCCP, will be presented. The individuals who are selected for these lectureships have been nominated and selected by their peers.

“Each year, we honor people in our community who are making significant contributions to chest medicine,” said Subani Chandra, MD, FCCP, Chair of the Honor Lecture and Awards Committee and Vice-Chair of the Scientific Program Committee. “The awardees were nominated by others in the field because of the difference they have made as educators, mentors, and physicians, in public health, in patient relations, and more.”

Among this year’s honorees, CHEST President Steven Q. Simpson, MD, FCCP, selected Curtis N. Sessler, MD, FCCP, to deliver the 2021 Presidential Honor Lecture, which recognizes an individual with personal meaning to the President for expertise in chest medicine.

Dr. Sessler, the Orhan Muren Distinguished Professor of Medicine and the Associate Chair for Faculty Development for the Department of Internal Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University, is a Past President of CHEST and established what would become the CHEST Critical Care NetWork. He will speak on Navigating the Road to Well-Being in the ICU, which Dr. Simpson said is a timely topic as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve.

“For many people who work in intensive care, the last year and a half has been brutal,” Dr. Simpson said. “We have a disease process for which very little of what we have to offer actually alters the outcomes substantially. In large part, this illness follows its own natural history, and our interventions are often futile, and this has been brutal on nurses, brutal on doctors, and some people have left the profession because of it.”

Even before the pandemic, Dr. Sessler worked to address burnout among ICU practitioners. During his time as the CHEST representative for the Critical Care Societies Collaborative, the CCSC made it a priority to highlight the rewards of working in the ICU.

“Part of the work he did with that group was to remind people of the rewards of working in the ICU—to help them, whether they’re doctors or nurses, understand how to take a step back, appreciate what they have, and take care of themselves to ease the problem of burnout,” Dr. Simpson said.

Following is the complete list of this year’s honorees and lecture schedule.*

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Sunday, October 17

9:15 am – 10:20 am CT
Distinguished Scientist Honor Lecture in Cardiopulmonary Physiology

Kenneth I. Berger, MD, FCCP
Probing the Small Airways in the Assessment of Dyspnea

This lecture, established in 1973, is awarded to a well-respected and published original investigator in pulmonary clinical physiology. The lecture is generously funded by the CHEST Foundation.

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Monday, October 18

11:00 am – 12:05 pm CT
Presidential Honor Lecture

Curtis N. Sessler, MD, FCCP
Navigating the Road to Well-Being in the ICU

This award honors an outstanding CHEST faculty member. The current CHEST President selects the recipient based upon their exceptional expertise in a given field.

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3:15 pm – 4:25 pm CT
Margaret Pfrommer Endowed Memorial Lecture in Home-Based Mechanical Ventilation

Debra Weese-Mayer, MD
Artificial Ventilation, A True Lifesaver for Children With CCHS and ROHHAD

This award, established in 1999 by Dr. Eveline Faure and Dr. Allen I. Goldberg, honors their lifelong colleague and friend, Margaret Pfrommer, a polio survivor and patient advocate. It is awarded to a clinician or ventilator-dependent professional or advocate who has advanced mechanical ventilation and fostered partnerships between physicians and patients.

The Margaret Pfrommer Endowed Memorial Lecture in Home-Based Mechanical Ventilation is generously supported by International Ventilator Users Network of Post-Polio Health International and the CHEST Foundation.

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3:15 pm – 4:25 pm CT
Canadian Thoracic Society Honorary Lecture

James G. Martin, MD
Irritant Asthma and Innate Immunity: A Neglected Area

The Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS) Honorary Lecture is awarded to recognize exemplary leadership in respiratory research and education in Canada. This honorary lecture is supported by the Canadian Thoracic Society.

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Tuesday, October 19

8:00 am – 9:05 am CT
Richard S. Irwin, MD, Master FCCP Honor Lecture

Peter J. Mazzone, MD, MPH, FCCP
Shared Decision Making in the Evaluation and Management of Early Stage Lung Cancer

This inaugural lecture honors Richard S. Irwin, MD, Master FCCP, and his lifelong contributions in pulmonary and critical medicine. Dr. Irwin’s work in research, practice, and as Editor in Chief of the journal CHEST® emphasized patient-focused care for over 50 years, promoting tenets like shared-decision making and accounting for patient values and preferences in clinical care. It is awarded to a clinician, or health care provider, who has advanced patient-focused care within the chest medicine community. The lecture is generously funded by the CHEST Foundation.

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8:00 am – 9:05 am CT
Edward C. Rosenow III, MD, Master FCCP/Master Teacher Honor Lecture

Diane E. Stover, MD, FCCP
The Many Faces of Organizing Pneumonia: What’s the O(O)P With That?

This endowment recognizes Dr. Edward C. Rosenow, who has promoted the development and training of hundreds of chest physicians during his 3 decades at the Mayo Clinic. It acknowledges his role of mentoring pulmonary and critical care physicians into CHEST leadership roles, where he has fostered the development of physicians-in-training to improve patient care. The lecture is generously funded by the CHEST Foundation.

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2:45 pm – 3:50 pm CT
Pasquale Ciaglia Memorial Lecture in Interventional Medicine

Michael J. Simoff, MD, FCCP
Robotic Bronchoscopy: Platform to the Future?

This award honors a CHEST member well known for their work in interventional medicine, such as clinical state-of-art innovations, economic impact, invention, interventional critical care, research opportunities, and/or a host of other interesting facets of interventional medicine. The lecture is generously funded by the CHEST Foundation.

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Wednesday, October 20

9:15 am – 10:20 am CT
Roger C. Bone Memorial Lecture in Critical Care

Ognjen Gajic, MD, FCCP
Patient Comes First: Prioritizing Relevant From Irrelevant in Critical Care Medicine

Established in 1997 to honor Roger C. Bone, MD, Master FCCP, a leader in critical care, sepsis, and sepsis research. Dr. Bone empowered physicians to communicate with patients and families about end-of-life issues and had significant achievements with CHEST. The lecture is generously funded by the CHEST Foundation.

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2:15 pm – 3:20 pm CT
Thomas L. Petty, MD, Master FCCP Memorial Lecture

Jean Bourbeau, MD, FCCP
Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Self-Management in COPD: Understanding the Past to Build the Future

This award honors Thomas L. Petty, MD, Master FCCP, who trained hundreds of physicians in COPD, oxygen therapy, and spirometry. This award is conferred to a CHEST Fellow (FCCP) known for their work in advancing the understanding of COPD pathogenesis and/or treatment and for exceptional mentoring and clinical instruction skills. The lecture is generously funded by the CHEST Foundation.

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*As of September 10, 2021. Check the CHEST 2021 schedule at chestmeeting.chestnet.org for the most up-to-date session information.