The American College of Chest Physicians (Chest) has announced Dr Gerard Silvestri as its new President, effective November 1. The group also confirmed the appointments of Dr John Studdard as President-Elect and Dr Clayton Cowl as President-Designate, and honored Dr Barbara Philips, who completed her term as President and became Immediate Past President of Chest.

silvestriGerard A. Silvestri, MD, MS, FCCP, is an international expert in lung cancer and interventional pulmonology. He completed his training in pulmonary and critical care at Dartmouth and has served on the faculty at the Medical University of South Carolina for nearly 25 years.

He is the President of the American College of Chest Physicians, the George Sr. and Margaret Hillenbrand Professor of Thoracic Oncology and Vice-Chair of Medicine for faculty development at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. His research includes screening for lung cancer, how patients should be diagnosed and staged with the disease and how to evaluate new technologies needed to diagnose and treat these patients.

studdardJohn Studdard, MD, FCCP, is a pulmonary and critical care physician in private practice with Jackson Pulmonary Associates in Jackson, Mississippi. Dr Studdard is currently the President-Elect of the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST). He is board-certified in internal medicine and pulmonary disease by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Dr Studdard’s dedication to reducing the number of patients he treats for tobacco-related diseases and his leadership qualities led him to serve as representative for CHEST in the negotiations with the tobacco industry leading to the attorneys general Master Settlement Agreement of 1998.

cowlClayton T. Cowl, MD, MS, FCCP, is triple board-certified in pulmonary and critical care medicine, occupational medicine and internal medicine with an interest in airway disorders, occupational-related respiratory health, toxicology, altitude physiology, aviation medicine and transportation medicine. Dr. Cowl is the President-Designate and sits as a member of the Board of Regents of the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) and is Chair of the Division of Preventive, Occupational and Aerospace Medicine with a joint appointment in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. His research focus has included projects in altitude physiology at Mayo Clinic’s altitude chamber where testing for the emergency oxygen mask for passengers in the new Boeing 787 was completed.

phillipsBarbara A. Phillips, MD, MSPH, FCCP, is a sleep medicine pulmonologist board-certified in internal medicine and pulmonary medicine, with an interest in the effects of sleep apnea on performance and outcomes, genetic risk factors for sleep apnea, nonpharmacologic treatment of sleep apnea and sleep in aging. Dr Phillips is the Immediate Past President of the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST); a Professor of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine; and Medical Director of the Sleep Laboratory at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. Dr. Phillips chaired the National Sleep Foundation and has served on the boards of the American Lung Association, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American Board of Sleep Medicine.

More information is available at chestnet.org.