![]() |
Ravi Kalhan is the director of the Asthma and COPD Program at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern Memorial Hospital. [1] [2]
Kalhan received a Bachelor of Arts in history from Brown University. He received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and his Master of Science in clinical investigation from Northwestern University. He completed his internship and residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and his fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Northwestern.
Kalhan is board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary disease and critical care medicine. [3] He is a member of the American Thoracic Society's clinical problems assembly program committee, and previously served on the society's publications policy committee. He is a fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians. He also serves on the scientific program committee of Chicago Respiratory Society.
He serves as a board member and executive committee member for Respiratory Health Association, [4] and he serves on the association's COPD advisory committee. He is chair of the Illinois COPD Coalition, [5] a network of stakeholders working together to address COPD in Illinois.
Kalhan serves as the director of the asthma and COPD program at Northwestern University, as well as a professor of medicine and a professor of preventive medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine. He also serves as the medical director of the pulmonary rehabilitation program for the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab in Chicago. He directs a research program focused on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and respiratory epidemiology. Kalhan's research group has been particularly interested in how to define "impaired respiratory health" as part of an overall agenda to determine intermediate phenotypes between ideal respiratory health and chronic lung disease which they argue is essential to intercept chronic lung disease at its earliest stages. [6]
Kalhan was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. His parents are Satish C. Kalhan, a physician scientist who spent his career at Case Western Reserve University, and Santosh B. Kalhan a pediatric anesthesiologist who spent most of her career working at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
In 2005, Kalhan married Susan Tsai, MD, a minimally invasive gynecologic surgeon at Northwestern University and Northwestern Memorial Hospital. [7]
A respiratory therapist is a specialized healthcare practitioner trained in critical care and cardio-pulmonary medicine in order to work therapeutically with people who have acute critical conditions, cardiac and pulmonary disease. Respiratory therapists graduate from a college or university with a degree in respiratory therapy and have passed a national board certifying examination. The NBRC is responsible for credentialing as a CRT, or RRT in the United States. The CBRC is responsible for credentialing as an RRT in Canada.
Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is the use of breathing support administered through a face mask, nasal mask, or a helmet. Air, usually with added oxygen, is given through the mask under positive pressure; generally the amount of pressure is alternated depending on whether someone is breathing in or out. It is termed "non-invasive" because it is delivered with a mask that is tightly fitted to the face or around the head, but without a need for tracheal intubation. While there are similarities with regard to the interface, NIV is not the same as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which applies a single level of positive airway pressure throughout the whole respiratory cycle; CPAP does not deliver ventilation but is occasionally used in conditions also treated with NIV.
Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in air-breathing animals. They include conditions of the respiratory tract including the trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli, pleurae, pleural cavity, the nerves and muscles of respiration. Respiratory diseases range from mild and self-limiting, such as the common cold, influenza, and pharyngitis to life-threatening diseases such as bacterial pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, tuberculosis, acute asthma, lung cancer, and severe acute respiratory syndromes, such as COVID-19. Respiratory diseases can be classified in many different ways, including by the organ or tissue involved, by the type and pattern of associated signs and symptoms, or by the cause of the disease.
The Feinberg School of Medicine is the medical school of Northwestern University and is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1859, Feinberg offers a full-time Doctor of Medicine degree program, multiple dual degree programs, graduate medical education, and continuing medical education.
Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. Symptoms include coughing up sputum, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest pain. Bronchitis can be acute or chronic.
Obstructive lung disease is a category of respiratory disease characterized by airway obstruction. Many obstructive diseases of the lung result from narrowing (obstruction) of the smaller bronchi and larger bronchioles, often because of excessive contraction of the smooth muscle itself. It is generally characterized by inflamed and easily collapsible airways, obstruction to airflow, problems exhaling, and frequent medical clinic visits and hospitalizations. Types of obstructive lung disease include asthma, bronchiectasis, bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Although COPD shares similar characteristics with all other obstructive lung diseases, such as the signs of coughing and wheezing, they are distinct conditions in terms of disease onset, frequency of symptoms, and reversibility of airway obstruction. Cystic fibrosis is also sometimes included in obstructive pulmonary disease.
Pulmonary rehabilitation, also known as respiratory rehabilitation, is an important part of the management and health maintenance of people with chronic respiratory disease who remain symptomatic or continue to have decreased function despite standard medical treatment. It is a broad therapeutic concept. It is defined by the American Thoracic Society and the European Respiratory Society as an evidence-based, multidisciplinary, and comprehensive intervention for patients with chronic respiratory diseases who are symptomatic and often have decreased daily life activities. In general, pulmonary rehabilitation refers to a series of services that are administered to patients of respiratory disease and their families, typically to attempt to improve the quality of life for the patient. Pulmonary rehabilitation may be carried out in a variety of settings, depending on the patient's needs, and may or may not include pharmacologic intervention.
Meyer Stanley Balter is a Canadian physician specializing in asthma, sarcoidosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by chronic respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. GOLD 2024 defined COPD as a heterogeneous lung condition characterized by chronic respiratory symptoms due to abnormalities of the airways or alveoli (emphysema) that cause persistent, often progressive, airflow obstruction.
Stephen L. Ondra is the chief medical adviser for the MITRE Corporation’s work as operator of the CMS Alliance to Modernize Healthcare federally funded research and development center. Ondra advises all HHS organizations to advance private insurance markets, Medicare and Medicaid, value-based payments, and healthcare quality. Ondra was most recently CEO of Cygnus-AI Inc., a company specializing in artificial intelligence and clinical decision support tools for diagnostic radiology. He was also founder and chief executive officer of North Star Health Care Consulting, and served on the board of directors of Triple-S Management and electroCore. A neurosurgeon and neuroscientist, Ondra has also served in senior positions in the Federal government, having a role in health reform efforts and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. He advises corporations, provider organizations and early-stage start-ups on the transition to value-based care and health IT strategy.
Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS) is a national not-for-profit medical association representing researchers and healthcare professionals in the field of respirology. It was established when the Canadian Tuberculosis Association, now The Lung Association, recognized the need for a medical association as evidenced by the increase in attendance of both medical and non-medical members at the annual meetings.
Jeffrey M. Drazen was the editor-in-chief of The New England Journal of Medicine from 2000 to 2019. He currently holds the positions of senior physician at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Distinguished Parker B. Francis Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, professor of physiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, and adjunct professor of medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine. He is the recipient of honorary degrees from the University of Ferrara, the University of Athens, the University of Modena and the University of Paris-Sud.
Sir Peter John Barnes, FRCP, FCCP, FMedSci, FRS is a British respiratory scientist and clinician, a specialist in the mechanisms and treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). He was Margaret Turner-Warwick Professor of Thoracic Medicine at the National Heart & Lung Institute, previous head of respiratory medicine at Imperial College and honorary consultant physician at the Royal Brompton Hospital London. He is one of the most highly cited scientists in the world.
The Dutch hypothesis provides one of several biologically plausible explanations for the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a progressive disease known to be aetiologically linked to environmental insults such as tobacco smoke.
Jason X.-J. Yuan is an American physician scientist whose research interests center on pulmonary vascular pathobiology and pulmonary hypertension. His current research is primarily focused on the pathogenic mechanisms of pulmonary vascular diseases and right heart failure.
Raman Viswanathan was an Indian chest physician, medical mycologist and pulmonologist, considered by many as the father of Chest Medicine in India. He was the founder director of Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, a postgraduate medical institute based in Delhi. An elected fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians, Royal College of Physicians of London, Indian National Science Academy and the Academy of Medical Sciences, United Kingdom, he was a recipient of several honors including the Forlanini Medal by Italian Tuberculosis Association and the Eugeno Morelli Prize of the National Academy of Sciences, Italy. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1974, for his contributions to medicine.
Anna Louise Hansell is a British physician who is Professor of Environmental Epidemiology and Director of the Centre for Environmental Health and Sustainability at the University of Leicester. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hansell studied the relationship between pollution and COVID-19.
Francesco Blasi is an Italian Medical scientist and professor. His domain of research is respiratory medicine. He has been the president of European Respiratory Society (ERS) during 2012–13. He has served as the president of Italian Respiratory Society during 2015–17. He is presently serving as one of the board of directors of University of Milan and is the professor of respiratory medicine in department pathophysiology and transplantation in University of Milan.
Northwestern Medicine, formerly Northwestern Memorial Healthcare, is a non-profit healthcare system affiliated with the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago, Illinois. Members include research hospitals, acute care facilities, and academic centers.
Monica Kraft is an American scientist, medical professor and researcher. She is the System Chair of the Department of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Mount Sinai Health System. She is also the Murray M. Rosenberg Professor of Medicine.