Prof. Peter J. Barnes from the National Heart & Lung Institute of the Imperial College London, a pioneer in the Respiratory Medicine, and academician of the British Royal Society, along with Prof. Magid Abou Gharbia from the School of Pharmacy of Temple University, USA, paid an academic visit to the Respiratory and Critical Disease Department of our hospital on January 8th, 2019.

At the exchange meeting, Prof. Peter J. Barnes, as the member of the core expert group of the Guideline for the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), gave an academic report of Advance in COPD regarding its global and economic burden, the 2019 version of GOLD highlights and the latest progress. He discussed about the current peripheral blood eosinophil biomarkers, the ABCD grouping of COPD, the phenotypic classification of inflammation, and the relationship with the future risks, and analyzed the treatment of COPD and the selection of medicines, bringing a further insight into the clinically diagnosis and treatment of COPD. Prof. Magid Abou Gharbia gave an academic report of Drug Discovery Approaches for The Development of Innovative Therapeutics, and explained the R&D methods for new therapies, presenting a new way to the conversion of innovative medicines from R&D to clinical use.

Both professors also visited the hospital museum, the clinical specimen research platform and the respiratory and critical disease department. Highly impressed by the work of our hospital and the department, they hoped that both sides could conduct international cooperation in the clinical research on airway diseases and the R&D of the medicines for the respiratory diseases.

Prof. Li Weimin, President of our hospital, met with the visiting delegation, and extended his welcome. He pointed out that as a world-famous expert of pulmonary diseases, Prof. Peter J. Barnes’ visit will facilitate the mutual understanding and lay a firm foundation for future cooperation. Afterwards, President Li presented to Prof. Peter J. Barnes the letter of appointing him as the director of the International Advisory Committee of the Clinical Research Center for the Respiratory Diseases of Sichuan Province.

Prof. Peter J. Barnes holds many academic titles, such as the academician of the Academia Europaea, the academician of the British Royal Society, the founding academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences, the famous British scientist and clinician, and the member of the core expert group of GINA and GOLD. He ever served as chairman of the European Respiratory Society, and currently acts as the founding chairman and professor of the Thoracic Medicine of the National Heart & Lung Institute, , the director of the respiratory medicine department of the Medical School of the Imperial College London and the consultant doctor with the Royal Brompton Hospital. As of now, he has published more than 1,000 peer review papers about asthma and COPD, and compiled more than 40 literatures (H-index=153), becoming one of the 50 most frequently cited researchers in the world.