The ATS gratefully acknowledges the following members of our society who’ve donated their time to develop this pioneering event. If you’d like to be considered for the 2026 Advisory Board, please email your CV to dbell@thoracic.org
All advisors have met ATS requirements for disclosure of conflicts of interest and attested compliance with the ATS Professionalism and Ethical Conduct Policy.
Kimberly Armstrong
Kimberly Armstrong, Ph.D., MT (ASCP) is the Director of the Influenza and Emerging Infectious Diseases Division (IEIDD) at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) within the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the Department for Health and Human Services. IEIDD is focused on preparing for the next influenza pandemic by modernizing influenza vaccines, developing new therapeutics for the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome, protecting the most vulnerable populations with pre-exposure prophylaxis options, and managing the National Pre-pandemic Influenza Vaccine Stockpile. IEIDD’s response efforts are evident in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic where vaccines and therapeutics were developed, tested, and authorized in record time. In addition to influenza and COVID-19, the division has invested in vaccines to protect against Zika virus infection as well as enabling vaccine technologies to support delivery of vaccines without needles and syringes.
Prior to becoming the Division Director in 2023, Dr. Armstrong was the Chief of the Therapeutics Branch within IEIDD. Her work within the branch focused on testing antivirals for the treatment of hospitalized influenza infections and eventually pivoting the program for severe infections from antivirals to host-directed therapeutics. In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Armstrong led the therapeutics team to achieve Emergency Use Authorizations for 10 therapeutics and procurement of millions of treatment courses of COVID-19 antivirals that have been distributed across the country.
Before joining BARDA in 2015 as a project officer, Dr. Armstrong managed a regulatory science research portfolio for the Office of Counterterrorism and Emerging Threats at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Armstrong joined the federal government as a Presidential Management Fellow at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). She received her Ph.D. from the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in Biological Sciences in Public Health where her work focused on drug resistance in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Dr. Armstrong received her certification as a medical technologist from the American Society for Clinical Pathology.
Richard Hennings
Richard has +30 years Pharmaceutical Industry experience, developing and commercializing innovative respiratory & anti-infective therapies. Richard is currently providing advisory services to biotech and healthcare investor clients. Richard recently served as Chief Commercial Officer at Synairgen, developing SNG001 (inhaled interferon beta) as a broad-spectrum antiviral, for the treatment of severe respiratory viral infections including COVID-19. Richard previously held Commercial leadership roles at Gilead, Novartis, AstraZeneca & Verona Pharma (developing ensifentrine for the treatment of COPD). During his Gilead tenure Richard led the expansion of respiratory & anti-viral product portfolios in the EU & US markets, launching inhaled Cayston® for Cystic Fibrosis & HIV treatment Stribild®.
Brian Matesic, MD
Bio Coming Soon
David Morris
Dave joined Valo as Chief Medical Officer in January 2022 and was promoted to President of Therapeutics & Technology that spring. Dave is responsible for enterprise-wide portfolio strategy and oversight and plays a critical role in integrating Valo’s therapeutic and technology capabilities with the design and development of our Opal Computational Platform™.
Dave has over 25 years of experience as a physician-scientist and global pharmaceutical executive with expertise across research, development commercialization, and venture financing. Previously Dave was the CMO of Enterprise Therapeutics and an Operating Partner of the Novartis Venture Fund. At Novartis, Morris also served as Global Head of Clinical Operations, Analytics, and Regions where he was responsible for clinical trials operations, monitoring, digital innovation, and data analytics. Prior, he was Development Franchise Head of Primary Care and Development Franchise Head of Respiratory. He has also held both discovery research and translational roles in academics and industry. Within Novartis and through the Novartis Venture Fund he has had founding and board-level roles in a series of companies, including a founding role of real-world data company TriNetX.
Dave received his BS in Neurosciences from the University of Rochester, his MD from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, and completed his Residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He maintains ABIM board certification in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine.
Joe Reif, MBA
Joe currently serves as the Vice President, Business & Clinical Development at VIDA Diagnostics. He has spent his entire career in Healthcare, primarily in the pharmaceutical sector where he has led commercial sales teams responsible for new product launches across a variety of therapeutic areas. In addition, Joe has worked in clinical trials as a Senior Administrator at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. He received his B.S. from St. John’s University, MN and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame, IN.
Albert Rizzo, MD
Dr. Albert A. Rizzo is the Chief Medical Officer for the American Lung Association and practices pulmonary/sleep medicine at Christiana Care in Newark, Delaware. He is board-certified in internal medicine, pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine and is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia where he obtained his medical degree (1978) and completed his residency in Internal Medicine (1978-1981) He received his specialty training at Georgetown University Hospital in Wash DC. (1981-1983) He is a member of the American Thoracic Society, a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and the American College of Physicians and the American Association of Sleep Medicine and a Diplomat of the American Board of Sleep Medicine.
His out-patient practice of over 39 years covers general pulmonary and sleep medicine disorders and includes a strong interest in asthma, COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary rehabilitation, lung cancer and obstructive sleep apnea. Since the impact of COVID, he has transitioned to a totally virtual practice in the ChristianaCare Center for Virtual Health as the pulmonary specialist.
He has held administrative duties at Christiana Care Health System that included Pulmonary Section Chief, Medical Director of E-ICU, Medical Director of Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Medical Director of the School of Respiratory Therapy. He relinquished these roles as he took on the responsibilities of the Chief Medical Officer for the American Lung Association. During his thirty-plus years in practice, he also served as the Principal Investigator for over 30 clinical trials in the fields of asthma, COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, pneumonia, and sleep apnea.
Dr. Rizzo had been a volunteer with the American Lung Association (ALA) since 1984 at both the local, regional, and national level. He served as Chairman of the National Board of Directors of the American Lung Association, 2011-2012. As a result of his service and achievements, he was awarded the Will Ross Medal for significant contribution to the prevention and control of lung disease in June 2015. He continued to serve as the senior Medical Advisor to the national office of the American Lung Association until being appointed the Chief Medical Officer for the organization in November 2018. In this role he collaborates with external partners to connect shared priorities and facilitate opportunities related to the American Lung Association’s mission of promoting lung health and preventing lung disease through research, advocacy and education, especially working on a level with the medical leadership of those external partners. In this role, Dr. Rizzo is currently the American Lung Association’s leading medical authority. He is their key medical advisor and leading media spokesperson.
In addition to smoking cessation, tobacco control and air quality, his topics include specific disease states such as COPD, Asthma, Sleep Apnea, and Lung Cancer, Climate Change Health Effects, E-cigarettes/vaping. The importance of recognizing and trying to eliminate some of the health care disparities that often involve these diseases is one of his concerns.
As a result of his involvement with the ALA, Dr. Rizzo has had the opportunity to educate both patients and the public as well as fellow professionals about the importance of preventive care and healthy lifestyles (particularly the role of cigarette smoking cessation) with regard to preserving lung function over the years. In his volunteer leadership roles he has testified before Congress on behalf of advancing lung disease research through funding of NIH and has lectured at American Lung Association meetings throughout the country. Within his role as the leading medical spokesperson for the Lung Association, Dr. Rizzo is a trusted resource for the public and news media, and is frequently featured in national leading news outlets, including CNN, The New York Times, ABC News, the TODAY Show, CBS Los Angeles, WPMT-TV and hundreds more.
To further deliver quality information and in-depth discussions about lung health, Dr. Rizzo also serves as the host of the Lung Association’s LungCastTM podcast, which has featured high-profile guests such as Dr. Anthony Fauci and is prdoduced by HCPLive and also hosts a monthly podcasr, Critical Observations in Pulmonary Medicine produced by Consultant360.
Angela Specht
Angela Specht is the Global Head, BARDA Alliance for Johnson & Johnson Innovation. In this role, Angela leads BLUE KNIGHT™, a joint initiative between JLABS and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. BLUE KNIGHT™ aims to stimulate the innovation and incubation of science and technologies that may improve health security and response in areas of mutual areas of interest for BARDA and Johnson & Johnson. Angela leads the strategic direction, alliance management, and oversight of all operational activities related to the collaboration with BARDA, including managing the sourcing and selection of high potential companies for JLABS locations and developing global programming.
Angela is an experienced and passionate pharmaceutical executive with 20 years of experience in the health care industry. In her previous role as Sr. Director of Enterprise Innovation at Johnson & Johnson Development Corp (JJDC), she developed collaborations and business models that accelerate cross-sector innovation. Prior to her role with JJDC, Angela led the Johnson & Johnson Global Public Health Vaccine Access Strategy team, enabling access to the company’s innovative vaccine portfolio for the 4 billion people living in lower income markets.
She has also served as the strategy and finance leader on the Global Public Health Leadership Team, implementing the globally recognized global health structure within Johnson & Johnson and serving as co-chair of the Johnson & Johnson Enterprise Governance Council, where she leveraged her experience working with external stakeholders to shape the enterprise sustainability strategy and goals. Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson Global Public Health, Angela held various leadership roles across finance and strategy within the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical sector. Angela also serves on the finance committee of the StopTB Partnership.
Angela earned an MBA from the Wharton School of Business and earned her bachelor’s degree in Accounting from The Pennsylvania State University. She lives in Wayne, Pennsylvania with her husband, Robert, and their two sons.
David Van Sickle, PhD
Bio Coming Soon
