Professor James D. Chalmers is the British Lung Foundation Chair of Respiratory Research at the University of Dundee, Scotland and an honorary consultant physician at Ninewells Hospital. His clinical and research interests are in difficult airways diseases, particularly bronchiectasis and COPD. In particular his group examines the interaction between bacteria and neutrophilic inflammation in the airway, using mechanistic, translational and clinical approaches. He is chair of the European Bronchiectasis Registry (EMBARC) and chaired the recent European Bronchiectasis Guidelines. He is also chair of the respiratory infection group (10.01) of the ERS and the respiratory infection speciality advisory group of the British Thoracic Society. He is current deputy chief editor of the European Respiratory Journal.