Pyng Lee, MD, PhD
Chair (Singapore)

Lee Pyng is Professor, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore. She is also Director of Interventional Pulmonology, Division of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, National University Hospital. Professor Lee has an active interest in lung cancer, pleural disease, obstructive airway disease, bronchoscopy and pleuroscopy. She was the past President of Singapore Thoracic Society, and serves on international scientific committees in Lung Cancer, Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology as well as American College of Chest Physician Steering Committees. She represents Singapore as Global Governor for American College of Chest Physicians and is invited locally and overseas to speak and instruct in pleuroscopy, bronchoscopy, bronchial thermoplasty and lung cancer. Professor Lee is the author of publications in peer-reviewed journals, has written a manual and a book on pleuroscopy that worn the British Medical Association Best Book Award in internal medicine in 2011. She received the Young Investigator’s award 2000 for work in asthma, Best Poster Award for research in talc and cancer cells at CHEST 2006, Best Original Investigation and Presentation at Chest World Congress 2014, and the Geoffrey McLennan Award for advancing the field of Interventional Pulmonology at CHEST 2014, Austin, Texas. In 2018, she was conferred AC Shah Oration Award for Woman Researcher in Interventional Pulmonology by Indian Association for Bronchology. She has completed her PhD on New Applications of Bronchoscopic Techniques conferred by Vrije University, Amsterdam in 2014, first in Respiratory medicine She also received Best Teacher Award in 2012 for undergraduate education, National University Hospital teaching excellence award for post-graduate education in 2014, and the prestigious Outstanding Tutor Award by National University of Singapore Medical Society. She is recently conferred the prestigious Pasquale Ciaglia award by CHEST 2019 for interventional medicine.

Ali Musani, MD
Vice-Chair (USA)

Dr. Musani serves as the chair of the Interventional Pulmonology Institute and the Financial Affairs and Fundraising Committee of the World Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology (WABIP). He is the former President and currently chair of the Regulatory and Advocacy Committee of the American Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology (AABIP). Dr. Musani has always been a loyal servant in the field of Interventional Pulmonology around the globe. As an expert in the field of IP, he serves the advisory, editorial, and scientific boards of numerous national and international organizations. He has authored several books on IP-related subjects and edited several pulmonary and IP journals over the years. Throughout his career, Dr. Musani has authored hundreds of scientific publications, book chapters, editorials, abstracts, case reports, and scientific reviews. He has been writing the scientific corner of the WABIP Newsletter since its inception. Dr. Musani recently received the 2022 Distinguished Educator Award from the American College of Chest Physicians and the 2022 Distinguished Service Award from the AABIP. Throughout his career, his passion and goals for the field have always laid in the democratization of medicine and the elevation of health education and health delivery standards in resource-poor areas of the world.

Stefano Gasparini, MD
Immediate Past-Chair (Italy)

Stefano Gasparini, MD graduated from the University of Ancona in 1978. He subsequently specialized in Pulmonary Diseases (1982), Respiratory physiology (1985), and Anesthesiology/Intensive Care Medicine (1990) at the University of Ancona and University of Naples, Italy. He was Director of the Pulmonary Diseases Unit of the Hospital of Ancona since June, 2000 up to 2019. He was named Associate Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the Università Politecnica delle Marche Medical School in 2012 and Full Professor in 2019.

He is Director of Specialty School in Respiratory Medicine and Director of the Postgraduate Master in Interventional Pulmonology at the University of Ancona. He has authored or coauthored more than 250 peer-reviewed scientific publications, is regularly invited to teach and lecture around the globe, and has prestigious leadership positions in several international medical societies and medical journals. Prof. Gasparini was WCBIP President of the 19th World Congress of Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology held in Florence, Italy in 2016 and recipient of the Gustav Killian award by WABIP in 2018.

Naofumi Shinagawa, MD
Secretary General (Japan)

Dr. Naofumi Shinagawa graduated from Asahikawa medical University in 1996. After taking his residency in KKR Sapporo Medical Centre, and some hospitals in Hokkaido, Dr. Shinagawa engaged in academic clinical research works at Hokkaido University Hospital. He studied respiratory intervention including rigid bronchoscope at Heidelberg University Thoraxklinik in 2007 from Dr. H. Becker, Dr. R. Eberhardt, and F. Herth. As Lecturer of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at First Department of Medicine, Hokkaido University Hospital since 2015. Dr. Shinagawa’s focus is on clinical research on pulmonary intervention and cancer chemotherapy. Dr. Shinagawa received the Japanese pulmonary intervention award in 2019. His main targets are diagnostic approach to the peripheral lung lesions using navigation system, and pulmonary intervention. Many publications prove his efforts and creativity in this field. He is honoured to be a part of steering committee of this Society.

Rajesh Thomas, MD, PhD
24^th WCBIP President (Melbourne)

Kazuhiro Yasufuku, MD
WABIP Newsletter Editor-in-Chief (Canada)

Dr. Kazuhiro Yasufuku is Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto, Staff Thoracic Surgeon at the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Toronto General Hospital. He is the Director of the Interventional Thoracic Surgery Program at the University Health Network (UHN), which includes the Interventional Thoracic Surgery Animal Operating Room capable of high-end endoscopic development and the state-of-the-art Interventional Thoracic Surgery Suite at the Toronto General Hospital for clinical application of new developments. He has continued to improve the quality and capability of minimally invasive diagnostics and reduced the timeline of detection, diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer.

Dr. Yasufuku is very active in International Societies related to Thoracic Surgery and Interventional Pulmonology. In addition to his roles as WABIP Newsletter Editor-in-Chief and Executive Board member, he serves as the Vice Chair of the Interventional Chest/Diagnostics Procedure Network Committee for CHEST, Secretary General of the Asian-Pacific Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology. He is also Associate Editor for the Journal of Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology and Associate Editor for Respiration. He is actively involved in innovation and currently a member of the AATS/STS (American Association for Thoracic Surgery/Society of Thoracic Surgeons) Workforce on New Technology.