Yvonne Heijdra Yvonne Heijdra studied medicine at the Radboud University Medical Centre (RUMC), Nijmegen, the Netherlands, where she obtained her medical degree. Thereafter, she specialised in internal medicine, followed by pulmonary medicine, combined with a PhD research project on respiratory muscle function and nocturnal oxygenation in COPD patients. She obtained her PhD in 1995 and registered as a pulmonologist in 1997. She became a staff member at the pulmonary department of the RUMC. In addition to her clinical activities, she was head of the pulmonary function department. In 2000, she worked for 1 year at Saint Elisabeth Medical Centre, a Tufts University-affiliated hospital, in Boston, MA, USA, to perform COPD-related research in the field of dynamic hyperinflation with Prof. Bartolome Celli. In 2006, she became an associate professor at the RUMC. Her fields of professional interest include COPD, pulmonary hypertension and clinical physiology. She leads the research performed in the field of COPD, especially related to (dynamic) hyperinflation. Her research aims to improve physical activity in COPD patients, which may result in an increased health status. She has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers. She was scientific secretary of the board of the Netherlands Society of Physicians in Pulmonary Medicine and Tuberculosis (NVALT) in 2011. In 2013, she was made president of the NVALT, and since 2015, she has served as vice president of the NVALT. John R. Hurst John R. Hurst graduated from the University of Edinburgh Medical School, Edinburgh, UK, in 1997 and was appointed Senior Lecturer, then Reader in Respiratory Medicine at University College London, London, UK, in October 2007. He has a research interest in the mechanisms of exacerbation susceptibility and cardiovascular risk as applied to COPD and bronchiectasis. This extends to α1-ATD, lung disease in primary immunodeficiency and the adult consequences of prematurity. He was awarded the 2012 European Respiratory Society COPD research prize. His h-index is 21 with 76 citations listed on PubMed. His clinical work at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust focuses on the Specialist COPD and Bronchiectasis services, and he has an active role in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education. A previous Associate Editor at Thorax, he was appointed to the Editorial Board of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine in 2012. x