Uwe Christians received his M.D. (with highest honors) and Ph.D. in Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology from the Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Germany. He is a board-certified pharmacologist, toxicologist and clinical pharmacologist with post-doctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco, and Stanford University. Dr. Christians is currently a Professor of Anesthesiology and Pathology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center and an adjunct Professor of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology at the Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Germany. He is also the Laboratory Director of the University of Colorado iC42 Clinical Research and Development Clinical Mass Spectrometry Service Center and the Medical Director of iC42 Toxicology. Dr. Christians has published more than 350 peer-reviewed research articles and book chapters. He has received numerous awards and is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Therapeutic Drug Monitoring. Research projects and interests include: Therapeutic drug monitoring and clinical pharmacokinetics, drug metabolism, drug transport and drug interactions, personalized drug treatment and precision dosing, mechanisms of drug toxicity, drug-eluting cardiovascular devices, new preclinical and clinical drug development strategies, and the development of toxicodynamic diagnostic monitoring strategies based on biochemical and protein profiling technologies.

Dr. Scott Donaldson is the Hubert E. Hatcher Family Distinguished Professor of Medicine and co-Director of the UNC Adult CF Care Center. He has over 30 years of experience in CF research and care. He was trained at the University of Michigan (BS, MD), Dartmouth-Hitchcock Hospitals (Internal Medicine) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship). He established the multidisciplinary adult CF clinic at UNC in 1998 and has been active in basic, translational and clinical CF research throughout his career. His multiple leadership roles include: member of the CFF Clinical Research Executive Committee (CREC); Director of UNC Mucociliary Clearance National Resource Center; Chair of the “Clinical Research Award +” grant review committee; Chair of the CFF Clinical Research Advisory Board; co-PI of the UNC Therapeutic Development Center; Medical Director of the UNC Clinical and Translational Research Center; and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Cystic Fibrosis.

Kevin Foskett, PhD, is the Isaac Ott Professor and Chair of the Department of Physiology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Most broadly, his research has had as its focus the mechanisms and regulation of ion transport and signal transduction, including that of CFTR, the chloride ion channel that is mutated in cystic fibrosis. He is recognized for his significant contributions to a number of fundamental areas of research, including epithelial cell volume regulation, mechanisms of intracellular Ca2+ signaling, mechanisms and regulation of exocrine secretion, the cell biology of cystic fibrosis, CFTR and submucosal gland physiology, and the molecular physiologies of several ion channels, including the InsP3R Ca2+ release channel, the mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter MCU ion channel, and CALHM ion channels that he discovered. He was a consultant for the Aurora Biosciences/Vertex Pharmaceuticals - Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Collaboration that led directly to the development of the first drugs for cystic fibrosis that target the basic defect. He is currently Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of Emily’s Entourage, a non-profit organization focused on development of therapies for the CF population that does not benefit from existing drugs.

Dr. Stephen Ruoss is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine in the Stanford School of Medicine. He has been focused on bronchiectasis and associated pulmonary infections, importantly including nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections, for over twenty years. He directs Stanford’s adult Bronchiectasis and NTM research and clinical management program, involved in clinical research and ongoing management of these patients.

Matthias Salathe, MD- Professor of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Kansas University Medical Center. Chair Department of Internal Medicine. Chief Research Officer and Senior Vice Chancellor, Kansas University Medical Center Matthias Salathe (MD from the University of Basel, Switzerland) trained in anesthesiology, internal medicine, pulmonary and critical care (one-year support from the Swiss National Science Foundation), and basic science (HHMI funded). IN 1999, he received his first NIH award and has been continuously funded by the NIH, the State of Florida, the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and several other foundations. With initial seminal observations in the area of cilia and mucociliary function, he brought together a diverse group of scientists to broaden interactions, resulting in him proposing and chairing the inaugural, ongoing Gordon Research Conference on “Cilia, Mucus and Mucociliary Interactions”. He contributed to innate airway host defense and airway ion transport. As a translational researcher, he actively repurposes approved medications for airway inflammation and contributed to patient reported outcomes measures. Most recently, his vaping research reveals how vapors cause mucociliary dysfunction via activation of TRP channels and airway inflammation. As an advocate, he actively fights teen vaping. As an educator, he developed and taught the respiratory system module in Miami, receiving 11 student awards for excellence in teaching from 2002-2018. As an academic leader, he was division chief of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine (Miami) and is now chair of internal medicine (Kansas), rapidly expanding the departmental NIH portfolio. He was recently named the vice chancellor for research at KUMC and held/holds leadership roles in national societies and foundations.