ATS Leadership

J. Randall Curtis, M.D., M.P.H., professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care at the University of Washington and head of the Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care at Harborview Medical Center, became president of the Society, succeeding Jo Rae Wright, Ph.D.

During his presidency, Dr. Curtis also hopes to further develop the Society's interdisciplinary and diverse membership and find ways for the ATS to help its members develop and maintain a work-life balance.

Dr. Curtis received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1988 and trained at the University of Washington, where he later earned a master's degree in public health in 1994. He conducts clinical research focused on assessing and improving end-of-life care and palliative care in the ICU and for patients with chronic lung disease. He is currently principal investigator of two National Institute of Health R01 grants and has funding from several foundations. He also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Critical Care and the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.

An ATS member since 1992, Dr. Curtis has chaired the ATS International Conference Committee and the Assembly on Behavioral Science, and served on the Communications and Marketing, Membership, Awards, Strategic Planning, Healthcare Policy, Audit and Finance, and Corporate Relations Committees.

Dean E. Schraufnagel, M.D., was installed as president-elect. He will serve as ATS president from 2010 to 2011. Dr. Schraufnagel is professor of medicine and pathology and program director in the Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also serves as attending physician at UIC and VA Medical Centers and the Chicago Tuberculosis Clinics. His research interests include pulmonary microcirculation, mycobacterial disease, scleroderma lung disease, sickle cell lung disease and pulmonary hypertension.

Dr. Schraufnagel currently chairs the Society's Audit and Finance Committee. Since joining the ATS in 1976, he has also served as editor of the ATS Web site, chair of the Web Editorial Board, chair of the Program and Budget Committee and as a member of the Council of Chapter Representatives, the Task Force on Clinicians and the Communications and Marketing, Information Systems, Membership, Nominating, Publications Policy and Revenue Development Committees.

Nicholas S. Hill, M.D., was installed as vice-president. He will serve as ATS president from 2011 to 2012. Dr. Hill is professor of medicine at Tufts University, adjunct professor of medicine at Brown Medical School and chief of the Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Division at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. An active clinician, he directs the Pulmonary Hypertension Center at Tufts, as well as the Outpatient Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program at New England Sinai Rehabilitation Center. His research interests include pulmonary vascular biology, clinical pulmonary hypertension and non-invasive ventilation.

Dr. Hill chairs the Society's Program and Budget Committee and is a member of the Planning Committee. Since joining the ATS in 1977, he has also been active in the Assemblies on Pulmonary Circulation and Critical Care, and has been a member of the Strategic Planning Committee, Council of Chapter Representatives and the editorial board of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Monica Kraft, M.D., was elected by the ATS membership as secretary-treasurer and will serve as ATS president from 2012 to 2013. Dr. Kraft is professor of medicine and founding director of the Asthma, Allergy and Airway Center at Duke University Medical Center. Her research interests include the mechanisms of inflammation and remodeling in asthma, with an emphasis on the role of infection and innate immunity in these processes. Her work has been continually funded since fellowship by the National Institutes of Health, American Lung Association and Francis Families Foundation.

Dr. Kraft is a member of the Membership, Program and Budget and Audit and Finance Committees. Since joining the ATS in 1993, she has chaired the Society's International Conference Committee, and served on the Membership, Clinicians Advisory, Awards and Research Advocacy Committees. She has also been active in the Assembly on Allergy, Immunology and Inflammation.

ATS immediate-past president Jo Rae Wright, Ph.D., is vice provost, dean of the Graduate School and professor of cell biology, medicine and pediatrics at Duke University. During her 16-year tenure at Duke, Dr. Wright has served in various positions, including head of both the Division of Physiology in the Department of Cell Biology, associate dean for Graduate Programs and vice dean of Basic Sciences. She assumed her current responsibilities in 2006.

Dr. Wright's research focuses on inflammatory and infectious lung disease at the cellular and molecular level, with a particular focus on the role surfactant in innate and adaptive immunity. An ATS member since 1990, she currently serves on the editorial board of the American Journal of Cell and Molecular Biology. She has chaired the Audit and Finance, International Conference, Membership, Scientific Advisory, and Program and Budget Committees. She is also a former chair of the Assembly on Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology.