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Health professionals and researchers involved in respiratory care will come together next month to share new findings and clinical updates in the specialty
The Irish Thoracic Society (ITS) Annual Scientific Meeting will take place from 20-22 November 2025 at the Galway Bay Hotel.
This year’s programme will be a rich mix of clinical updates, case discussions, and expert lectures focused on advancing respiratory medicine and improving patient care, according to ITS President Prof Marcus Kennedy.
“The meeting is a platform for people to present their own research from across all of Ireland, both North and South, and also includes international speakers in a number of sub-specialties,” Prof Kennedy, who is a Consultant Respiratory Physician at Cork University Hospital, told the Medical Independent.
The gathering opens on Thursday with specialist registrar training and the always popular case study forum. This session offers trainees and consultants an opportunity to exchange ideas, share experience, and celebrate excellence through to the evening’s prize-giving reception.
Friday’s programme begins with poster reviews and parallel discussion sessions, highlighting new research across key respiratory themes including asthma, interstitial lung disease (ILD), tuberculosis, cystic fibrosis, infection, and sleep medicine.
Guest lecture
The first guest lecture will be delivered by Prof James Chalmers from the University of Dundee, Scotland, and Chief Editor of the European Respiratory Journal.
Prof Chalmers studied medicine in Glasgow and completed his clinical training in the south-east of Scotland. In 2008, he was awarded a Medical Research Council Training Fellowship to complete a PhD in the immunology of bronchiectasis at the MRC Centre for Inflammation Research, Edinburgh.
He joined the University of Dundee in 2011, establishing his own research group the following year.
Prof Chalmers, who is a Consultant Respiratory Physician, runs a specialist clinic for patients with complex respiratory infections, particularly bronchiectasis, at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee.
His work has been recognised through numerous awards, including the Romain Pauwels Award in 2017 and the 2021 Cournand Lecture Award, both from the European Respiratory Society.
Prof Chalmers’ research focuses on developing new treatments for acute and chronic lung diseases through a “bench to bedside” approach. The Dundee group is recognised as a world-leading centre for bronchiectasis research, coordinating the EMBARC European Bronchiectasis Network and multiple international clinical trials.
Active research programmes within the group also include work on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Covid-19, long Covid, pneumonia, non-tuberculous mycobacterial disease, and pleural infection.
Following Prof Chalmers’ talk, the day continues with oral presentations showcasing recent findings in asthma, ILD, infection, and sleep disorders. Attendees will also have opportunities to meet with industry partners throughout the day. Later sessions explore lung cancer, pleural disease, general respiratory topics, and COPD.
COPD
They will be followed by a guest lecture on ‘The changing face of COPD care in Ireland’ by Prof Breda Cushen, HSE National Clinical Lead for Respiratory.
Prof Cushen is a Consultant Respiratory Physician at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, and an Honorary Clinical Associate Professor at the RCSI. She is also a Fellow of the RCPI.
Prof Cushen’s clinical and research interests centre on severe airways disease, particularly asthma and COPD. She was awarded a PhD from RCSI in 2018 for her research into factors influencing repeat healthcare use following hospitalisation for acute COPD exacerbations. After completing her specialist training, she worked as a consultant at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, UK, before returning to Ireland to establish a dedicated multidisciplinary service for patients with advanced COPD at Beaumont Hospital.
In addition to her work with advanced COPD, Prof Cushen runs specialist clinics in severe asthma and undifferentiated airways disease. She serves as Clinical Lead for the hospital’s COPD outreach service and has played a key role in developing respiratory integrated care programmes within the Beaumont catchment area.
Prof Cushen is also active in research, serving as Principal Investigator and co-investigator on several studies in asthma and COPD at RCSI.
This year’s programme will be a rich mix of clinical updates, case discussions, and expert lectures focused on advancing respiratory medicine
Friday evening concludes with the Gala dinner and awards ceremony. Prof Walter McNicholas, Newman Clinical Research Professor in the School of Medicine at University College Dublin and Consultant in Respiratory Medicine will be presented with a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to the specialty. Prof Kennedy said the presentation of the award to Prof McNicholas, who is an internationally renowned expert in sleep apnoea, promises to be a highlight of the event.
Parallel and affiliate forums will also run during the day.
“We have very much increased our allied healthcare membership: Nurses, physios, respiratory physiologists,” Prof Kennedy said.
“We are now also reaching out to speech and language therapists and GPs.”
Saturday offers an informal start with the ITS run and coffee club along the Galway Promenade. This will be followed by two international guest lectures.
Final talks
The first of these will be delivered by Prof Philippe Astoul, Head of Thoracic Oncology, Pleural Diseases and Interventional Pulmonology, Aix-Marseille University, France.
A graduate of Aix-Marseille University School of Medicine, Prof Astoul specialises in pulmonary medicine and thoracic oncology. Following his Fellowship training, he completed an international research placement at the University of California, San Diego, US, before returning to France to pursue an academic and clinical career dedicated to thoracic diseases.
In addition to his extensive work in thoracic oncology, Prof Astoul is internationally recognised for his expertise in pleural diseases, including malignant mesothelioma, pleural effusions, and pneumothorax. He has contributed to the development of several major international guidelines in these fields and serves as a regional and national expert on asbestos-related diseases.
Following Prof Astoul’s lecture, Prof Francis Finucane, Consultant Endocrinologist, University Hospital Galway, and Professor of Medicine, University of Galway, will explore the connections between metabolic medicine and respiratory health.
A graduate of the RCSI, Prof Finucane completed specialist training in general internal medicine and endocrinology at Beaumont Hospital and the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin. He undertook a clinical research Fellowship at St James’s Hospital, Dublin, and Trinity College Dublin, for which he was awarded an MD. This work described cardiovascular and metabolic perturbations in Irish children with obesity as well as the lack of response to exercise in young patients with type 2 diabetes.
Following this, he undertook a four-year postdoctoral Fellowship at the MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, UK, where he led the first trial demonstrating that aerobic exercise can reduce liver fat in humans. His work also contributed to identifying key genetic markers for diabetes risk and developing new methods for assessing insulin sensitivity.
Since returning to Ireland in 2010, Prof Finucane has established the west of Ireland’s regional bariatric service, now the busiest multidisciplinary obesity centre in the country. He served as Clinical Lead for Endocrinology at Galway University Hospitals (2014–2018) and has held leadership roles on several national and international committees.
Recently, he helped establish Ireland’s first Masters in Obesity Medicine at the University of Galway.
The meeting will close with a panel discussion on ILD, looking ahead to future directions in the field.
Prof Kennedy said it has been an “honour” to serve as President of the ITS and thanked all his colleagues on the Society’s committee for their hard work and support.
With its broad scientific content, networking opportunities, and expert speakers, the 2025 ITS Annual Scientific Meeting promises to be a vibrant and inspiring event for everyone involved in respiratory care.
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