Each year, the ATS Respiratory Health Awards honor outstanding contributions and achievements in pulmonary disease, critical care, and sleep medicine. For all awards, there is a special emphasis on efforts that have the potential to eliminate health disparities. The Awards Committee is committed to seeking a diverse group of nominees, inclusive of all genders, ethnicities, and disciplines.

The ATS Respiratory Health Awards ceremonies are built into each day of ATS 2026, beginning with the Opening Ceremony.

Below is information about the awards and each recipient, listed by conference day. All event locations are on Level III of the OCCC West Concourse, and all times are listed in ET.

Day 1: Saturday, May 16

Event: Opening Ceremony, 4:15–5:30 p.m.

Location: Chapin Theater 

Public Service Award

About the award: The Public Service Award is presented in recognition of contributions to public and population health equity related to lung diseases, sleep health, or critical care.

Recipient: Tyra Bryant-Stephens, MD

Mini-bio: Through her academic, clinical, and research work, Dr. Bryant-Stephens has focused on improving health outcomes for children with asthma and addressing structural drivers of health disparities. She has served most of her career at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She became CHOP’s inaugural senior director of the Center for Health Equity and currently serves as chief health equity officer, leading strategies to address health disparities, strengthen community partnerships, and embed equity into daily practice.

Five career highlights:

• Founder and Medical Director, Community Asthma Prevention Program, CHOP
• Chief Health Equity Officer, CHOP
• Professor, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
• Member, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Asthma Education and Prevention Program
• Invited Participant, President Obama’s Roundtable Discussion on Climate Change and Public Health

World Lung Health Award

About the award: The World Lung Health Award honors contributions to improving world lung health in translational or implementation research, delivery of health care, continuing education, or care of patients with lung disease; it may also be awarded for related political advocacy with a special emphasis on efforts that have the potential to eliminate gender, racial, ethnic, or economic health disparities worldwide.

Recipient: Payam Nahid, MD, MPH

Mini-bio: Through research, mentorship, and advocacy, Dr. Nahid has shown consistent commitment to translating science into action to expand access to life-saving tuberculosis (TB) care and reduce disparities in lung health. He is a professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine and the executive director of the Institute for Global Health Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Dr. Nahid has chaired major U.S. and international tuberculosis guideline groups and represented the ATS in policy discussions and advocacy advancing global lung health.

Five career highlights:

• Co-lead of the landmark clinical trial of the four-month rifapentine–moxifloxacin–based regimen that shortened treatment for drug-susceptible TB to four months, a major advance endorsed by the CDC and the World Health Organization
• Co-founder and sustainer of a clinical trials and research collaboration with the Vietnam National TB Programme for more than 15 years, strengthening national TB capacity and advancing equitably partnered, local leadership
• Founder of the UCSF Center for Tuberculosis
• Leader of national TB research training initiatives, including the UCSF/UC Berkeley partnered TB Research Advancement Center
• Contributor to the World Health Organization Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Tuberculosis

J. Randall Curtis Humanism Award

About the award: The J. Randall Curtis Humanism Award celebrates individuals who exemplify humanism in health care by recognizing work that reflects the ideals of compassion, humanism, and mentorship espoused by Dr. Curtis, a past president of the ATS. Recipients engage in professional and academic activities that reflect exceptional mentoring skills; compassionate delivery of patient care; competence in scientific endeavors; respect for patients, families, and colleagues; the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in their daily work and life; effective, empathic communication and listening skills; and service to their community.

Recipient: Lynn F. Reinke, PhD, ATSF

Mini-bio: An internationally recognized expert in dyspnea management for patients diagnosed with advanced lung diseases, Dr. Reinke has extensive clinical experience in pulmonary medicine, which has informed her leadership in studies funded by NIH, VA, and foundations designed to test nurse-led palliative care interventions, caregiving, and improving the quality of clinicians’ end-of-life communication skills. She has provided extensive service to the ATS, including co-authoring the Society’s policy statement on palliative and end-of-life care, chairing the Nursing Assembly, and serving on the Board of Directors.

Five career highlights:

• Presidential Endowed Chair, Palliative & End of Life Care, University of Utah
• Fellow, Sojourns Scholar Leadership Program, Cambia Health Foundation
• Fellow, Health and Aging Policy Fellows Program
• Former president of Hospice & Palliative Nurses Association
• Author of numerous journal articles, book chapters, and books on palliative and end-of-life care

Edward Livingston Trudeau Medal

About the award: This is the highest recognition given by the ATS. Named in honor of the founder and first president of the American Lung Association, the Trudeau Medal 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. It also acknowledges exemplary professionalism, collegiality, and citizenship in the ATS community.

Recipient: Charles G. Irvin, PhD, ATSF

Mini-bio: An internationally renowned applied physiologist with research interests that span lung mechanics, airway biology, and clinical trials of asthma/COPD treatments, Dr. Irvin has sought to unlock the mechanisms that cause airway/lung dysfunction in devastating lung diseases such as asthma. As a researcher, Dr. Irvin has defined fundamental principles of airway physiology and built enduring research and training programs that bridge basic, translational, and clinical science. As a mentor and colleague, he has exemplified values of fairness, transparency, and inclusion throughout his career.

Five career highlights:

• Scholar-researcher with more than 260 peer-reviewed publications and continuous NIH funding from 1974 to the present
• Mentor to more than 30 successful clinicians and scientists; received numerous awards for teaching, career development, and mentoring
• Co-editor of a widely used and reprinted book that serves as a comprehensive resource on pulmonary function testing
• Leader or participant in groundbreaking studies that described a novel airway neural control, the role of inflammation in airways dysfunction, upper-lower airways connections, novel animal models and measurement techniques, the unique phenotype of obese asthma, and the central role of airway closure/obstruction in asthma
• Medical director of a pulmonary function lab for 18 years, director of the NIH-funded Vermont Lung Center, chair and member of numerous NIH and other grant-review committees, chair or member of numerous ATS bodies, such as the board of directors, the long-range planning committee, standards and guidelines committees, and others

Day 2: Sunday, May 17

Event: J. Burns Amberson Lecture, 4:30–5 p.m.

Location: Chapin Theater

J. Burns Amberson Lecture

About the award: Named for James Burns Amberson, an international authority on chest disease and tuberculosis, this lecture recognizes major international lifetime contributions to clinical or basic research that have advanced the fundamental understanding of basic, translational, or clinical approaches to respiratory disease, critical illness, or sleep disorders.

Recipient: Marc Peters-Golden, MD

Lecture title: “Cyclic AMP vs. Fibrosis: Harnessing Homeostasis and the Power of Pleiotropy”

Mini-bio: As an educator, clinician, and researcher, Dr. Peters-Golden has worked to care for patients, mentor and promote the next generation of leadership in academia and research, and deepen the field’s understanding of lung inflammation, immunity, and tissue remodeling by employing molecular, biochemical, pharmacologic, and in vivo approaches to study homeostasis and disease. Throughout his career, Dr. Peters-Golden has authored over 300 articles and chapters and has served as a reviewer for more than 60 journals. His current primary research focus is on the potential for cyclic AMP signaling to promote fibrosis resolution.

Five career highlights:

• Mentored numerous trainees and leaders for the University of Michigan PCCM fellowship program and training grant.
• Led laboratory that made major contributions to delineating the roles of eicosanoid lipid mediators and documenting extensive regulatory cross-talk between cytokines and lipid mediators.
• Spearheaded research that first characterized the ability of lung macrophages to secrete extracellular vesicles containing anti-inflammatory molecules of the SOCS (suppressor of cytokine signaling) family.
• Led research that established that many of the pivotal actions of lipid mediators reflect their ability to ligate G protein-coupled receptors and signal via either the increase (prostaglandin E2 or prostacyclin) or decrease (e.g., leukotriene B4) of the primordial second messenger cyclic AMP.
• Received the ATS Assembly on Allergy, Immunology, and Inflammation Scientific Accomplishment Award, as well as the Basic Science Research Award and the Distinguished Mentor Award from the University of Michigan Medical School.

Day 3: Monday, May 18

Event: Recognition Awards for Scientific Accomplishments, 2:15–3:45 p.m.

Location: Lecture Hall W300

Recognition Award for Scientific Accomplishments

About the award: The Recognition Award for Scientific Accomplishments honors individuals for outstanding scientific research contributions in basic or clinical arenas to enhance the understanding, prevention, and treatment of respiratory disease, critical illness, or sleep disorders. The four individuals listed below will receive this award in 2026.

Recipient: Nizar N. Jarjour, MD, ATSF

Presentation title: “Airway Inflammation in Asthma: Mechanisms and Consequences”

Mini-bio: Dr. Jarjour has led an internationally recognized asthma research program and served as a principal investigator for several NIH-funded collaborative grants, including the severe asthma research program (SARP) and the precision therapies in severe and exacerbation-prone asthma (PrecISE), which examined five novel therapies for severe asthma. His team at the University of Wisconsin–Madison is currently leading studies on the systemic effects of asthma and has received NIH funding to study the effects of airway inflammation in asthma on the risk of dementia.

Five career highlights:

• Ovid Meyer Endowed Professor of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
• Leader of research program focused on mechanisms and treatment of asthma, specifically severe asthma, resulting in more than 250 scientific publications
• Director of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Division for more than 20 years.
• Chair of the ATS Association for Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Division Directors (APCCSD)
• Numerous service positions on professional societies such as the ATS, ERS, NIH study sections (and other government funding organizations), and the American Board of Internal Medicine-Pulmonary Committee

Recipient: Reena Mehra, MD, MS, ATSF

Presentation title: “A Journey Unlocking the Cardiopulmonary Consequences of Sleep Disorders”

Mini-bio: The research of Dr. Mehra, an internationally recognized physician-scientist, has been instrumental in establishing obstructive sleep apnea as a major contributor to cardiopulmonary disease, particularly cardiac arrhythmias. Dr. Mehra’s scholarship has advanced the field from population-level discovery to mechanistic insights and therapeutic innovation. Her work spans epidemiology, pathophysiology, and clinical investigation, translating discoveries in sleep and circadian biology into improved understanding and management of cardiopulmonary disease.

Five career highlights:

• Author of more than 240 peer-reviewed publications with over 61,000 citations
• Division head of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at the University of Washington
• Chair of the inaugural American Heart Association Scientific Statement on Sleep Apnea and Cardiac Arrhythmias, chair of American Academy of Sleep Medicine task forces, and chair/co-chair of NIH workshops shaping research priorities
• Associate editor of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, a flagship journal of the ATS, and previous chair of the ATS Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology Assembly
• Recipient of the 2025 American Academy of Sleep Medicine Excellence in Research Award

Recipient: Gloria S. Pryhuber, MD

Presentation title: “Building a Comprehensive Molecular Lung Atlas: Advancing Pediatric and Adult Lung Health through Investigator Collaboration”

Mini-bio: Serving more than 30 years as a practicing neonatologist and basic science investigator at the Golisano Children’s Hospital at the University of Rochester Medical Center, Dr. Pryhuber has fostered active, global collaborations of young investigators and clinicians with expertise in neonatology, pulmonology, infectious disease, obstetrics/perinatology, immunology, pathology, molecular biology, and genomics. Dr. Pryhuber’s laboratory applies advances in molecular biology to study the human lung and enhance and enable collaborative research to reduce respiratory mortality and morbidity.

Five career highlights:

• Principal investigator for the NIH Human Lung BioMolecular Multi-Scale Atlas Program (HuBMAP-Lung)
• Principal investigator for the NHLBI Lung Development Molecular Atlas Program Human Tissue Core (LungMAP-HTC), creating the BioRepository for Investigation of Diseases of the Lung Extended (BRINDLE)
• Principal investigator for the multicenter NIH Prematurity and Respiratory Outcomes Program (PROP)
• Lead Investigator for the NIAID UR-Respiratory Pathogens Research Center (RPRC) “Prematurity Respiratory Outcomes, Immune System and Microbiomes (PRISM)” Study
• Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology and the Environmental Health Sciences Center, University of Rochester

Recipient: Prescott G. Woodruff, MD, MPH

Presentation title: “Molecular Phenotyping of Obstructive Lung Diseases”

Mini-bio: Dr. Woodruff’s research has advanced the field’s understanding of asthma and COPD through applications of genomics, molecular phenotyping, and translational studies of human airway biology. His work contributed to the identification of the type-2–high (T2-high) endotype of asthma and its relationship to corticosteroid responsiveness, helping inform the development of biologically targeted therapies. Dr. Woodruff’s current research focuses on defining molecular sub-phenotypes of obstructive lung disease to develop biomarkers to guide clinical trials and precision therapeutics.

Five career highlights:

• Advanced understanding of early smoking-related lung disease by demonstrating the clinical significance of symptomatic smokers with preserved spirometry and leading subsequent trials, including RETHINC
• Contributed to biologically informed classification of COPD, identifying molecular subgroups including a T2-high phenotype responsive to corticosteroids and targeted biologic therapies
• Led large NIH-supported collaborative studies of obstructive lung disease, including leadership of SPIROMICS
• Participated in multiple major cohorts and trials advancing understanding of asthma and COPD heterogeneity and progression
• Served for more than 20 years as professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF); currently chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy, and Sleep Medicine

Day 4: Tuesday, May 19

Event: Plenary Session 11:45 a.m.–1 p.m.

Location: Chapin Theater

Jo Rae Wright Award for Outstanding Science

About the award: Named to memorialize a past ATS President, scientist, scholar, and mentor, this award is designed to support the work of early career respiratory health professionals by recognizing the demonstrated potential for significant achievement and contributions among those who are beyond a postdoctoral fellowship, but not above the rank of assistant professor or the equivalent.

Recipient: Elizabeth M. Viglianti, MD, MPH, MSc

Mini-bio: Dr. Viglianti is a physician–scientist whose work focuses on understanding the development, trajectories, and outcomes of persistent critical illness, to improve prognostication, decision-making, and long-term outcomes for critically ill patients and their families. Her current research interests include improving communication and goal-concordant care in the ICU, identifying biologic and health system drivers of persistent critical illness, and developing interventions to enhance clinician well-being and workplace safety in health care settings.

Five career highlights:

• Established an independent research program focused on persistent critical illness, supported by federal funding, including an NIH K23 Career Development Award and a VA Merit Award as Principal Investigator
• Served as co-investigator on NIH consortium studies in acute respiratory failure, pneumonia, and sepsis
• Served as a multiple principal investigator on a federally funded project addressing institutional sexual harassment in medicine
• Appointed assistant professor of internal medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Michigan
• Awarded the American Society for Clinical Investigation Young Physician-Scientist Award, the American Thoracic Society Critical Care Early Career Achievement Award, the Jerome W. Conn Award for excellence in research, and the Theodore J. Standiford Early Career Endowed Award from the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan

Outstanding Educator Award

About the award: The Outstanding Educator Award recognizes lifetime achievements, excellence in clinical or research education, and mentoring in pulmonary, critical care, or sleep medicine.

Recipient: Jakob I. McSparron, MD, ATSF

Mini-bio: Dr. McSparron is a clinician, educator, and intensivist recognized nationally for his contributions to medical education, leadership, and curriculum innovation. With interests in procedural education, educational theory, and interdisciplinary teamwork in the ICU, Dr. McSparron has served as course director for several regional and national continuing medical education programs. He has also been involved in educational programs within the ATS for over a decade, previously serving as vice-chair of the Education Committee and co-chair for the Critical Care Core Curriculum.

Five career highlights:

• Program director of the University of Michigan Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship; vice-chair of education for the Department of Medicine at the University of Michigan, beginning July 2026
• Course director of the Fellows Track Symposium at the ATS
• Associate director of the Regional Infectious Containment Unit at the University of Michigan during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Recipient of Mid-Career Educator Award from the Association of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Program Directors
• Recipient of Brigham and Women’s Hospital Soma Weiss Award for excellence in teaching

Outstanding Clinician Award

About the award: The Outstanding Clinician Award recognizes a pulmonary, critical care, or sleep clinician who has made substantial contributions on a local or national level to the clinical care of patients with lung disease. Awardees must spend 75 percent or more of their time providing direct patient care. Honorees must also be recognized by patients and families as a caring and dedicated health care provider, and by peers as having made substantial contributions to the clinical care of patients with respiratory disease.

Recipient: Joshua O. Benditt, MD

Mini-bio: Dr. Benditt has won numerous teaching, mentoring, and research awards, served on numerous national committees, and received multiple funding grants, but working directly with patients has been the foundation of his career. Dr. Benditt has served as an attending physician since 1990, with much of his outpatient care focused on neuromuscular respiratory failure in individuals with muscular dystrophies, spinal cord injury, ALS, and other disorders, such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), which has seen revolutionary changes in average life expectancy and patient care since the advent of noninvasive ventilation systems.

Five career highlights:

• Served a pulmonary and critical care medicine fellowship at Boston University with Bartolome Celli, MD, as mentor
• Served as principal investigator for the National Emphysema Treatment Trial (NETT) at the University of Washington
• Presented multiple times at the JIVD International Conference on home ventilation in Lyon, France
• Selected for the Paul Beeson Clinical Teaching Award at the University of Washington
• Served on multiple task forces and committees, including ongoing service on the Data Base Advisory Panel for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Centers for Disease Control Task Force on DMD

Research Innovation and Translation Achievement Award

About the award: The Research Innovation and Translation Achievement Award recognizes outstanding contributions to the advancement of respiratory research focused on specific innovations to improve health by advancing practice, policy, and health care delivery. Awardees may represent academia, industry, nonprofits, or government. Individual accomplishments are recognized along with the recipient’s role as a leader pursuing science through collaborative approaches — both interdisciplinary and inter-institutional.

Recipient: Kambez H. Benam, DPhil, ATSF

Mini-bio: Dr. Benam’s research bridges pulmonary biology, immunology, and bioengineering to develop human-relevant microphysiological systems that recapitulate lung, vascular, and bone marrow function. His laboratory has advanced airway-, vascular-, and hematopoietic-on-chip platforms capable of modeling host-pathogen interactions, inhalation toxicology, COPD pathobiology, and immune dysregulation, including in Down syndrome. Dr. Benam’s work has been highlighted internationally for reshaping preclinical pulmonary modeling.

Five career highlights:

• Pioneered human Lung-on-a-Chip technologies, redefining preclinical modeling of COPD, viral infection, and inhalation toxicology.
• Advanced multi-organ microphysiological systems (lung–vascular–bone marrow) to interrogate organ–organ crosstalk and immune dysregulation
• Developed bioinspired inhalation robotics, including a breathing–vaping platform enabling physiologically relevant aerosol generation, real-time particle characterization, and regulatory-grade inhalation toxicology studies
• Translated organ-on-chip innovations into clinical and regulatory impact, serving as principal investigator on NIH and FDA awards and contributing to ATS reports and national advisory efforts to modernize respiratory research and reduce reliance on animal models
• Founded Pneumax, LLC, advancing commercialization of human-relevant organs-on-chips and inhalation analytics technologies to accelerate drug development and therapeutic discovery

Distinguished Achievement Award

About the award: The Distinguished Achievement Award recognizes outstanding contributions to the advancement of the ATS mission through a single major accomplishment or a cumulative impact on the field. Awardees have substantially contributed to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of lung disease, critical illness, or sleep disorders through leadership in research, education, or clinical care. Two individuals will receive this award in 2026.

Recipient: Lynn B. Gerald, PhD, MSPH

Five career highlights:

Mini-bio: Dr. Gerald, assistant vice chancellor for population health sciences and a professor of medicine at the University of Illinois Chicago, is an expert in pediatric asthma and has maintained continuous NHLBI funding for school-based asthma interventions for 20 years. She currently serves as principal investigator of the American Lung Association Airways Clinical Research Center at the University of Illinois Chicago while working with several U.S. states to pass legislation ensuring access to albuterol in schools and to implement and evaluate stock inhaler programs.

• Led 2007 ATS Workshop on Population-Based Screening for Asthma in Schools, which declared that the adoption of population-based screening for asthma in schools is unwarranted, given the lack of evidence of improvement in outcomes as a result of case detection
• Conducted the first study (2004-2007) to show the effectiveness of supervising inhaled corticosteroids for asthma at school
• Published the first study (2016) on the effectiveness of stock inhalers in schools to reduce 911 calls and EMS transports for respiratory emergencies at school
• Helped win passage (2017) of stock-inhaler legislation in Arizona, which served as a resource to other states in passing similar legislation
• Served as co-chair of a policy statement from the ATS, National Association of School Nurses, American Lung Association, and the Asthma and Allergy Network that outlined best practices for ensuring access to albuterol in schools

Recipient: Andrew J. Halayko, PhD, MSc, ATSF

Mini-bio: A professor in the department of internal medicine at the University of Manitoba and founder of the Biology of Breathing Group at Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba, Dr. Halayko has held continuous national research funding since 1999, leading or co-leading multiple large infrastructure awards, including a current Canada Foundation for Innovation project, AirSAFE, to create Canada’s premier facility to generate traffic and wildfire pollution for controlled co-exposures in pre-clinical research models of human disease.

Five career highlights:

• Awarded a King Charles III Coronation Medal by the Office of the Secretary for the Governor General of Canada, for significant impact and contributions towards lung health in Canada
• Served as editor-in-chief for the American Journal of Cell and Molecular Biology since 2023
• Chaired the ATS International Conference for nearly four years, including the two virtual conferences during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Received Founder’s Award from the Canadian Lung Association (CLA), for exemplary innovation or commitment towards lung health and the mission of the CLA
• Led platforms within the Canadian Respiratory Research Network that developed a nation-wide training program that continues today, providing stipendiary support, networking, and career development opportunities for graduate students and clinical and postdoctoral research fellows in Canada

Philip Hopewell Prize for Leaders in Global Respiratory Health

About the prize: This prize is designed to recognize mid-career investigators in low- and middle-income countries who have demonstrated outstanding commitment to clinical and research excellence through their published research in peer-reviewed journals and their dedicated contributions to global health policy. The primary aim of this award is to empower and support these deserving individuals on their path to becoming established leaders in global respiratory health. Traditionally part of the plenary session recognition ceremony, the Philip Hopewell Prize is independent of the Respiratory Health Awards.

Recipient: Joy Nkiru Eze, MBBS, MPH, MSc, MPhil, ATSF

Mini-bio: Dr. Eze is a professor of pediatrics and a pediatric pulmonologist at the University of Nigeria and the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, where her work focuses on advancing lung health for children and strengthening research capacity in low- and middle-income countries. In ATS, she serves on the International Health Committee and is both a MECOR alumna and current faculty member. She is one of the first women in Africa to complete the ATS/PATS Women’s Leadership Training Program, reflecting her commitment to advancing women’s leadership in respiratory medicine and global health.

Five career highlights:

• Coordinated a nationwide survey of asthma and COPD medicines in public and
• private sector pharmacies in Nigeria, involving researchers from the six geopolitical zones
• Contributed to the establishment of the Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD) Diagnostic Center at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, Cape Town; conducted video microscopic study of respiratory cilia and initiated the first data collection, which has so far shown that a significant proportion of South African children, and some adults, have PCD confirmed by genotyping
• Received Young Investigator Award, Third Prize, International Society of Paediatric Respiratory Diseases (INSPiRED) Congress
• Appointed as a professor of pediatrics in the College of Medicine, University of Nigeria (UNN) and its affiliate hospital, the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu, Nigeria
• Faculty (Level 1 Co-Lead) in MECOR AFRICA, and a faculty member in the ATS Virtual International Pediatric Pulmonology Research Academy (VIPPRA)