Asian Pacific Society of Respirology

Asian Pacific Society of Respirology
Name	Asian Pacific Society of Respirology
Formation	1986
Type	Professional association
Headquarters	Sydney, Australia
Region served	Asia-Pacific
Leader title	President

Contents

Asian Pacific Society of Respirology is a regional professional association dedicated to advancing clinical care and research in respiratory medicine across the Asia-Pacific region. Founded in the 1980s, the Society serves clinicians, researchers, and allied health professionals from countries including Australia, China, India, Japan, and Singapore while engaging with international bodies such as World Health Organization, Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, and American Thoracic Society.

History

The Society emerged amid growing regional concern over respiratory diseases following initiatives by institutions like Royal Australasian College of Physicians, National University of Singapore, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and University of Tokyo Hospital. Early milestones involved partnerships with organizations such as Commonwealth Fund, Wellcome Trust, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and national ministries including Ministry of Health (Singapore), Department of Health (Australia), and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (India). Notable figures associated with its formation include clinicians from Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Seoul National University Hospital, and Queen Mary Hospital (Hong Kong), reflecting regional hubs like Sydney, Beijing, Seoul, and Hong Kong.

Membership comprises clinicians and scientists affiliated with institutions such as Siriraj Hospital, Chiang Mai University, Bangkok Hospital, National Taiwan University Hospital, Philippine General Hospital, and Kobe University Hospital. Governance structures mirror professional bodies including British Thoracic Society and European Respiratory Society, with an executive council, regional chapters representing Japan Respiratory Society, Korean Academy of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases, Chinese Thoracic Society, and committees on education, research, and guidelines similar to panels convened by National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Programs include capacity-building workshops modeled on initiatives from World Bank-supported health projects and clinical training exchanges with universities like University of Sydney, Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins University, and Imperial College London. The Society supports research grants comparable to awards from National Medical Research Council (Singapore), National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Indian Council of Medical Research and runs mentorship schemes reflecting practices at Royal Melbourne Hospital and Toronto General Hospital. Public health campaigns have addressed issues flagged by United Nations Children's Fund, UNAIDS, and Asian Development Bank.

The Society publishes peer-reviewed guidance and position statements in collaboration with journals and publishers linked to Elsevier, Wiley-Blackwell, Springer Nature, and societies such as European Respiratory Society, American Thoracic Society, and International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. Clinical guidelines reference global frameworks like Global Initiative for Asthma and Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease and involve expert panels from National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, and university departments at Kyoto University and Seoul National University. Educational materials have been disseminated through platforms associated with BMJ Publishing Group and Oxford University Press.

Annual congresses rotate among host cities including Melbourne, Beijing, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, and Kuala Lumpur and attract delegates from institutions such as Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Karolinska Institutet. Meetings feature sessions with invited speakers from bodies like American Thoracic Society, European Respiratory Society, and World Health Organization and thematic symposia on topics emphasized by Stop TB Partnership, Global Alliance Against Chronic Respiratory Diseases, and national research councils.

Collaborations span partnerships with international organizations including World Health Organization, Asian Development Bank, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and academic consortia at University of Oxford, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and University of California, San Francisco. The Society has influenced policy dialogues in ministries such as Ministry of Health and Welfare (South Korea), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (India), and contributed to multicenter trials conducted with networks like ClinicalTrials.gov registries, forging links with research institutes including Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Duke-NUS Medical School, and Flinders University. Its impact is reflected in enhanced regional research capacity, guideline adoption in hospitals such as Prince of Wales Hospital (Hong Kong), and training programs at teaching centers like St. Vincent's Hospital (Sydney).

Category:Medical associations