Edward Harris

It was a privilege to be invited to represent Western Australia and the Asia-Pacific region at the APSR-ISRD session on 18 May 2019 at the ATS conference in Dallas. The session was a great success, showcasing the wide variety of high-quality respiratory research taking place in the region by early career researchers.

The presentations and posters selected for the APSR-ISRD session were of a very high standard, my personal highlight was the poster and subsequent discussion on a potential, new risk-prediction model for use in the diagnosis of community acquired pneumonia which demonstrated improved sensitivity and specificity compared to the CURB-65 score in a large Japanese population.

My presentation on the findings from five years of lung cancer screening using ultra low dose computed tomography (uLDCT) in an asbestos-exposed population was well received with insightful questions about the future direction of study in this area and the challenges of selecting the appropriate population for screening.

The highlights of the conference for me were the poster sessions and subsequent discussion surrounding Lung Cancer screening, including the challenges and cost of dealing with incidental findings. I was very interested in the poster demonstrating the use of quantitative muscle area measurements as a potential future tool for lung cancer risk stratification.

I learned about the importance of multi-disciplinary teamwork from the Masterclass session where difficult clinical cases were discussed amongst expert respiratory physicians, radiologists and pathologists. The session on Responding to Reviewers was also very helpful, delivered by one of the editors of the Blue Journal who gave excellent practical tips for any researcher looking to answer reviewer's critique of their submitted paper.

The conference venue was huge, accommodating the largest meeting of chest physicians and associated professionals in the world and was located in the heart of downtown Dallas, which was a great location for the conference. Due to the number of simultaneous sessions during the main conference and the size of the venue it was important to plan ahead to make the most of the many world-renowned speakers and excellent discussion sessions.

There were excellent small group sessions; most notably for me was the presentation by Prof. Arenberg from the University of Michigan on how best to discuss the risks and benefits of screening for lung cancer with potential participants, as well as the value of shared decision making with participants when undergoing screening.

After the sessions were finished, we were able to visit the Texas Book Depository museum and enjoy the huge range of excellent restaurants and bars in the city with friends and colleagues.

I would particularly like to thank the APSR for inviting me to present our group's work at the APSR-ISRD session and for the award of the travel grant. I would also like to thank the ATS conference organisers as well as my supervisor Prof. Fraser Brims and my co-authors.