Matthew Ing

It was an honour to be able to participate and present at the recent APSR Assembly Virtual Meeting for respiratory infections. It has been the first international virtual symposium I have been involved in during 2020 and I can only speak glowingly about the fantastic organisation and efficiency surrounding this event. It is a testament to the dedication of Dr Yoichi Nakanishi and the APSR team that coordinated an international symposium in the midst of a global pandemic.

I thoroughly enjoyed the symposium and was impressed with the significant contributions by all of the authors to the growing literature surrounding respiratory infections. On reflection it is uplifting that despite a global pandemic and international restrictions, we are all a part of a worldwide medical fraternity that continues to strive, through evidence-based medicine, to improve patient outcomes.

I had the pleasure of receiving the Silver Award for our study entitled "Management of thoracic empyema in an Australian tertiary referral hospital; a 36-month retrospective study." I'm incredibly humbled by this award and would like to thank the APSR on behalf of all the authors for the recognition of our work. The symposium gave me an excellent opportunity to present our work and field questions that were insightful and thought provoking.