Our Speakers

• Kayleigh Brindle

  Senior Respiratory Nurse Specialist/Research Nurse

  Read biography
  Kayleigh Brindle

  Senior Respiratory Nurse Specialist/Research Nurse Humber Health NHS Trust

  Role and Location
  Senior Respiratory Nurse Specialist/Research Nurse at Humber Health NHS Trust

  Education
  Kayleigh qualified as a nurse in 2009 and has worked within the field of respiratory medicine since. With a strong academic background Kayleigh has completed a post graduate BSc in Health Professional Studies and a post graduate certificate in Leadership in health and social care.

  A keen researcher with over 12 years’ experience working in clinical research, Kayleigh is currently a PhD student at Hull York Medical School studying for a PhD in Health Sciences exploring the lived experience of individuals and their significant others living with chronic cough. As part of her PhD studies she has undertaken a post graduate certificate in Health Research Methods.

  Kayleigh has completed a number of respiratory related courses and holds full ARTP certification for performing and reporting spirometry which alongside her vast clinical and research experience is pivotal to her current role as one of the lead nurses on the FRONTIER Hull project.

  Memberships
  Kayleigh is a member of the ARNS Research and Education Sub-committee and currently sits on the British Thoracic Society cough quality standards group.

  Research Interests
  With a passion for research Kayleigh is a huge advocate for nurse led research and has authored and co-authored numerous publications across the respiratory landscape with a specialist interest in Chronic Cough, COPD and research methodology that utilises the patient voice.

  Kayleigh regularly presents research and education locally, nationally and internationally.

• Karen Watkins

  Senior Respiratory Nurse Specialist

  Read biography
  Karen Watkins

  Senior Respiratory Nurse Specialist

  Role and Location
  A Senior Respiratory Nurse Specialist with over 15 years respiratory experience in  in Secondary Care (Hull University Teaching Hospitals, particularity in COPD and asthma

  Research Interests
  Karen has joint led on the FRONITER Hull Project since 2023, a collaboration between Hull University Teaching Hospitals and Chiesi aimed at improving early diagnosis and treatment for COPD.

• Claire Adams

  Read biography
  Claire Adams

  Role and Location
  Claire Adams is an experienced nurse with a real passion for improving the care of people with respiratory disease.  Claire has been working in a primary care setting for the past 19 years.  She is the Regional Respiratory Clinical Lead for the North-East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (NENC-ICB).

  Education
  She has a long history of delivering Respiratory education (Spirometry, Asthma and COPD diploma modules and study days) both independently and with organisations including: ‘Education for Health’ (2008-2016); ‘Rotherham Respiratory’ (2016-2020) and Sunderland University where she wrote and delivered the Asthma/COPD modules for Postgraduate clinicians (2017-2019).

  Memberships
  She also has a role as the Respiratory Programme manager with Health Innovation North-East and North Cumbria.

  Research Interests
  Claire’s research interests primarily revolve around improving the care of people with respiratory diseases.

• Professor Michael Steiner

  Professor of Respiratory Medicine

  Read biography
  Professor Michael Steiner

  Professor of Respiratory Medicine

  Role and Location
  Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Leicester, honorary clinical professor at Loughborough University and honorary consultant at Glenfield Hospital, Leicester.

  Education
  Professor Steiner graduated in Medicine from the University College & Middlesex School of Medicine in 1990. He undertook his specialist training in Respiratory Medicine in North Trent and was appointed as consultant at Glenfield in 2002.

  Research Interests
  Michael Steiner is a leading member of the Centre for Exercise and Rehabilitation Science at Glenfield Hospital. His research interests are in the fields of chronic respiratory disease management, pulmonary rehabilitation, skeletal muscle dysfunction, exercise and training physiology and nutritional support in COPD and other chronic respiratory diseases.

  He is a key member of the Leicester Respiratory BRU, leading projects focusing on the pathophysiology of skeletal muscle dysfunction in COPD and the response to treatment within all three research areas (translational molecular discovery, Phenotyping and Biomarkers, and Clinical Interventions). With the support of the BRU, he has led the development of an innovative Advanced COPD service and clinical cohort.

  He has a longstanding collaboration with Professor Paul Greenhaff at Nottingham University which resulted in the award of a MRC experimental medicine grant in 2006 (value £700k). This led to participation in the UK MRC/ABPI national COPD consortium (COPD MAP). He is deputy lead for workpackage 4 (Reducing the burden of COPD by targeting skeletal muscle mass and function) which aims to generate new clinically relevant knowledge and by working closely with Pharma partners, facilitate and accelerate the development of new therapeutic approaches in COPD.

  He was lead for the Rehabilitation Theme of the NIHR CLAHRC for LNR (2008-13) which delivered a portfolio of applied research and implementation projects, extending the scope of Pulmonary Rehabilitation and exercise therapy to other healthcare settings (including primary and acute care) and long-term conditions (such as cardiac failure). Examples are an innovative web-based self-management approach to cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, the REACH trial, a large (> 350 patients) two-centre trial of rehabilitation during hospitalisation for acute exacerbation of COPD, and a clinical trial of supported self-management for patients with COPD managed in primary care. The theme incorporates a programme of implementation which will assist partner trusts in making use of research evidence from applied research conducted by the theme. The theme employed around 18 members of staff over its five-year term, including three PhD students.

  Memberships
  – Associate editor of Thorax (from July 2010).
  – Member of the European Respiratory Society nutrition task force
  – Member of the ATS/ERS skeletal muscle statement group
  – Member of the British Thoracic Society science and research committee (2010-13).
  – Deputy lead for workpackage 4 of the national MRC/ABPI COPD consortium, an industrial/academic collaboration aiming to assist drug development aimed at improving skeletal muscle function in COPD.
  – Lead for the National Pulmonary Rehabilitation Workstream of the HQIP commissioned National COPD audit.
  – Co-chair the BTS Pulmonary Rehabilitation Quality Standards Group.

• Michelle Treasure

  Independent Respiratory Nurse Educator

  Read biography
  Michelle Treasure

  Independent Respiratory Nurse Educator

  Michelle Treasure MSc, BN (Hons), PGCE, is an Independent Respiratory Nurse Educator with extensive experience in delivering clinical education across primary and secondary care. Specialises in supporting healthcare professionals to improve the assessment and management of respiratory conditions, with a particular focus on small‑airways involvement, inhaler‑technique optimisation and behavioural factors influencing asthma control. Her teaching is shaped by many years of frontline respiratory practice and her ongoing work training clinicians across the UK.

  She has delivered educational sessions and speaker engagements for national respiratory programmes, bringing practical, patient‑centred insights to help clinicians recognise and address real‑world barriers to disease stability.

• Dr Suresh Babu

  Consultant Respiratory Physician

  Read biography
  Dr Suresh Babu

  Consultant Respiratory Physician Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust

  Role and Location
  Dr Suresh Babu is a Consultant Respiratory Physician at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, where he has practised for the past 15 years. His clinical focus is in severe asthma and interstitial lung disease.

  Education
  Dr Babu holds MBBS, MD, DNB (Respiratory Medicine), FRCP (UK) and DM (UK) qualifications. He is a former member of the BTS/SIGN Asthma Guideline Group (2014–2016) and an active member of the British Thoracic Society, European Respiratory Society and Indian Chest Society.

  Research Interests
  His research has centred on severe asthma, with particular focus on the role of TNF‑alpha and potential therapeutic strategies involving TNF blockade. He has authored more than 20 original research papers, over 50 published abstracts, contributed to multiple book chapters and written four books.

  Memberships
  Dr  Suresh Babu is an active member of the British Thoracic Society, the European Respiratory Society, and the Indian Chest Society.

• Monbi Stefanova Chakma

  Clinical Pharmacist and final year PhD candidate

  Read biography
  Monbi Stefanova Chakma

  Clinical Pharmacist and final year PhD candidate National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI), Imperial College London

  Role and Location
  Monbi Stefanova Chakma is a Clinical Pharmacist and final year PhD candidate at the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI), Imperial College . 

  Education
  She qualified as a pharmacist from King’s College London, during which she collaborated with researchers at Keimyung University, South Korea and industry partners at Intertek, focusing on drug delivery devices and inhalable formulations.

  Research
  Monbi’s PhD integrates patient physiology and psychology in the development of inhaler devices, with a particular focus on dry powder inhalers and the impact of airflow resistance.

  She has showcased her research at leading conferences in the respiratory field, where she has also chaired sessions on inhaler technology (e.g. Drug Delivery to the Lungs 2019, European Respiratory Society 2022-2024, International Society for Aerosols in Medicine 2023-2025)

  Monbi also has a keen interest in small airways disease and its impact on respiratory conditions.

• Rachel Voller

  Advanced Nurse Practitioner

  Read biography
  Rachel Voller

  Advanced Nurse Practitioner

  Role and Location:
  ANP Lead Nurse: Innovation, Long Term Conditions, Women’s Health

  Speaker Bio:

  Rachel Voller is an Advanced Nurse Practitioner with over 25 years of NHS experience. She specialises in long-term conditions, preventative care, and women’s health, with a strong focus on respiratory care. Rae holds a postgraduate diploma in mental health psychology and is committed to delivering holistic, patient-centred support, particularly for those living with respiratory conditions.

  As Project Manager for the COMET respiratory service on the Wirral, Rae leads programmes that provide early diagnosis and targeted management for patients with COPD following lung cancer screening. She is passionate about ensuring accurate, timely diagnoses and advocates for identifying the “missing millions” with undiagnosed disease.

  Rae is the Lead Nurse for Moreton and Meols and Wallasey Wellbeing PCN, where she drives the Respiratory Support Programme (ReSP), delivering asthma care in line with national guidelines. A national speaker and advocate, she sits on regional Asthma and COPD steering groups and is actively involved in lobbying national and local politicians to influence respiratory policy and improve outcomes at a population level.

• Professor Alice Turner

  Professor in respiratory medicine

  Read biography
  Professor Alice Turner

  Professor in respiratory medicine University of Birmingham

  Role and Location
  Professor in Respiratory Medicine at University of Birmingham with clinical work focussing on AATD and COPD. 

  Education
  Alice graduated from the University of Leicester and has done postgraduate training via the Universities of Dundee and Birmingham, and Ashridge-Hult business school, completing a PhD focussed on COPD and alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) and postgraduate qualifications in medical education, leadership and quality improvement (QI).

  Research Interest
  Dr Turner has ran phase 1-4 trials in AATD, including ones with liver outcomes, and has published widely on clinical features and management of AATD.
  

  Memberships
  She runs the largest AATD clinic and cohort in the UK, is research lead for the European pulmonary AATD registry (EARCO), chair of the ERS AATD guidelines group, a major contributor to the European AATD liver registry initiated by EASL and is an Alpha 1 Foundation board member.

• Dr Matthew Swallow

  Respiratory Lead and GP partner

  Read biography
  Dr Matthew Swallow

  Respiratory Lead and GP partner Birmingham and Solihull

  Role and Location 
  Dr Swallow is a GP partner and trainer at Bournbrook Varsity Medical Centre.

  He is the Respiratory Lead for the SDSmyhealthcare federation. Dr Swallow works for Birmingham and Solihull ICB as Community Respiratory Champion.

  Education
  Matthew Swallow graduated from Peninsula Medical School in 2012. After completing his foundation training in the West Midlands, he joined the South Birmingham GP Vocational Training Scheme.

  He was awarded an Academic Clinical Fellow post at the University of Birmingham, working on several projects with the Birmingham Lung Improvement Studies team. He completed an MSc in ‘Clinical Primary and Community Care’ with a respiratory research focus.

  Research Interests
  In this role as Community Respiratory Champion, he is responsible for providing senior clinical leadership to the redesign of respiratory diagnostic and management pathways.

• Jayne Longstaff

  Respiratory Quality Improvement Nurse Lead

  Read biography
  Jayne Longstaff

  Respiratory Quality Improvement Nurse Lead Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth

  Role and Location
  Respiratory Quality Improvement Nurse Lead

  Education
  Jayne is a qualified nurse and has a BSc in LTC (respiratory)
  

  Research Interest
  Jayne has published respiratory research and was involved in the development of the Wessex Asthma Toolbox and the national multi-award-winning MISSION asthma, COPD, and breathlessness project during her career. She has also developed, championed, and implemented improvements in inhaler technique and supported FeNO in primary care with work through NIOX and NICE.

  Memberships
  She is currently involved in the delivery and education of research and respiratory clinical care in general practice.

• Nazir Hussain

  Specialist Respiratory Pharmacist and Lead Pharmacist

  Read biography
  Nazir Hussain

  Specialist Respiratory Pharmacist and Lead Pharmacist The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust and the Black Country ICB

  Role and Location
  Specialist Respiratory Pharmacist at The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust and Respiratory work stream Lead Pharmacist for the Black Country ICB.

  Research Interest
  Nazir has a real passion for improving respiratory health and was one of the first pharmacists in primary care to be accredited as a Pharmacist with a Special Interest (PhwSI) in Respiratory Care. Throughout his career, he has been involved in several projects demonstrating the value of pharmacist prescribing. His pharmacist-led respiratory service in GP practices offers an alternative model of care to address respiratory health inequalities.
  Nazir has been shortlisted for several national awards because of his dedication to improving the lives of respiratory patients. He is passionate about fostering collaboration and integration across primary, secondary, and tertiary care to achieve better outcomes for respiratory patients and serves on several national committees.

  Memberships
  – Primary Care Respiratory Society (PCRS) Executive Committee
  – Asthma + Lung UK Member of the Council of HCPs
  – Interstitial Lung Disease-IN (ILD-IN) Committee
  – Primary Care Pharmacy Association (PCPA) Regional Ambassador
  – NHS England Core20PLUS Ambassador
  – Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Expert Advisor (primary care)

• Dr Chris Kuo

  Consultant Respiratory Physician

  Read biography
  Dr Chris Kuo

  Consultant Respiratory Physician Aberdeen Royal Infirmary

  Role and Location
  Dr. Chris Kuo is a consultant respiratory physician at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

  Education
  Dr Kuo has completed his training in the North of Scotland and holds an MD from the University of Dundee, where he focused on research into small airway dysfunction and cutting-edge biologic therapies for severe asthma.

  Research Interest
  Small Airways Dysfunction
  Biologic Therapies

• Dr Dan Neville

  Consultant Respiratory Physician and Honorary Senior Lecturer

  Read biography
  Dr Dan Neville

  Consultant Respiratory Physician and Honorary Senior Lecturer Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust and University of Portsmouth

  Role and Location
  Dr Dan Neville is a Consultant Respiratory Physician at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust who specialises in Severe Asthma and COPD and is part of the Portsmouth Severe Asthma Service. He is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Portsmouth and an educator who is determined to transform the delivery of care to improve outcomes for patients who suffer from asthma and COPD. He cares passionately about sustainability in healthcare.

  Education
  He graduated with a distinction in clinical practice from Imperial College London and was awarded a CRN fellowship for his research into novel diagnostic technologies for airways disease.

• Professor Adel Mansur

  Consultant Physician and Honorary Professor

  Read biography
  Professor Adel Mansur

  Consultant Physician and Honorary Professor Birmingham Regional Severe Asthma Service

  Role and Location
  Consultant Physician and Honorary Professor

  Education
  Adel Mansur graduated from Tripoli Medical College in Libya and had junior and higher medical training in Glasgow, Leeds and West Midlands and was awarded PhD in asthma genetics in 1998 by University of Leeds.
  He became consultant in respiratory / general medicine in 2002 at Heartlands hospital in Birmingham and has since been leading the tertiary severe asthma service in Birmingham.

  Research Interest
  Professor Mansur led on the development of the severe asthma network covering a region in central England of West Midlands, Gloucestershire and Derbyshire and is also a member of the UK severe asthma registry group. Provision of holistic care to patients presenting with severe/difficult to treat asthma was central to the asthma team development in Birmingham now formed of experienced multidisciplinary team of specialist nurses, physiotherapists, speech therapists, psychologists and pharmacist.
  Professor Mansur research interests range from asthma genetics, biomarkers in asthma and phenotyping, adherence optimisation, asthma comorbidities and clinical trials.
  Diversity and equity of care delivery is one of the priority area of his research interests originating from the ethnically diverse population severed by the asthma team and high prevalence of deprivation and unfavourable psychosocial condition affecting many patients in central city of Birmingham. He is currently conducting research on barriers to good care in the South Asian population with asthma.
  Professor Mansur was awarded honorary chair by institute of inflammation and ageing of the University of Birmingham in 2020, and has published 120 peer-reviewed research articles in the field of asthma.

• Ebenezer Akore Yeboah

  Nurse and PhD candidate

  Read biography
  Ebenezer Akore Yeboah

  Nurse and PhD candidate Coventry

  Role and Location 
  Registered nurse and PhD candidate at Coventry University, UK

  Education
  He is a registered UK and Ghanaian nurse. He is an Associate Fellow, Higher Education Academy and serves as a guest lecturer for the MSc Global healthcare management, Coventry University. He is also a visiting lecturer at the University of Chester and Birmingham Newman University. He completed his bachelor’s degree in Nursing at KNUST-Ghana.

  Research Interest
  His research interest is on the topic: Nursing in the context of climate change and sustainability. His clinical interest is accident and emergency care.

  Memberships
  Ebenezer is a sustainability subject expert group member at the Florence Nightingale Foundation.