Lung Volume Reduction
Expert Summit 2026

Richard is a consultant chest physician at Wythenshawe Hospital, part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. He was appointed in 2007 and has clinical interests in COPD and pulmonary vascular disease.

He is the physician lead for the lung volume reduction service and has experience in patient selection and bronchoscopic lung volume reduction.

Dr Barraclough has no disclosures of relevance.

Tim Batchelor is a thoracic surgeon, appointed in 2007 as a consultant in Bristol. In 2022 he moved to St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London to augment the well-established and innovative thoracic surgical team as well as to lead the lung volume reduction service, one of the largest in Europe.

Clinical interests include ERAS and patient outcomes, lung volume reduction for emphysema, robotic segmentectomy, and the role of surgery in the multi-modal treatment of lung cancer. Despite holding non-academic posts, he has published over 50 papers and research includes VIOLET, PulMiCC, LIBERATE, GAP, RAMON and BREATHE-3 trials.

Mr Batchelor declares honoraria from Intuitive, J&J, Medela, Medtronic, and Pulmonx.

Dr Sara Buttery is a Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist at the Royal Brompton Hospital. Her primary research interests lie in pulmonary rehabilitation and chronic respiratory disease management, with a particular focus on advanced COPD care, physical activity, and patient experience.

Recently, she completed a PhD at the NHLI, Imperial College, where her research concentrated on improving outcomes and access to Lung Volume Reduction therapies for individuals with severe emphysema.

Dr Buttery declares honoraria from Pulmonx.

Edward is a Consultant Thoracic Surgeon at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. He maintains a broad thoracic surgery practice, with clinical-academic interests in pain, pneumothorax, breathlessness (emphysema and diaphragm dysfunction), evolving approaches to small or indeterminate lung lesions (including robotic bronchoscopy for biopsy and localisation), and locally advanced lung cancer.

He serves as Undergraduate Lead for Thoracic Surgery at the University of Leicester, where he holds an Honorary Lectureship; is a committee member of the UK Pleural Society; and chairs the Diaphragm Working Group of the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery (SCTS) and the Pleural Disease Working Group of the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS).

Mr Caruana declares honoraria, proctorship or consultancy fees, or research or education grants from AtriCure, Ethicon J&J, Intuitive, and Pulmonx.

Alan Dawson is a Thoracic Surgeon, appointed in 2025 as a Consultant at Glenfield Hospital, Leicester. He has a broad thoracic surgery practice that includes lung volume reduction, both bronchoscopic and surgical. He has a clinical-academic interest in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma. He also has an interest in surgery as part of the multimodal treatment of lung cancer.

He serves as a member of the Surgical Specialty Board in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Mr Dawson declares honoraria from Fujirebio and AstraZeneca.

James Dodd is a Professor and Honorary Consultant in Respiratory Medicine at the University of Bristol.

He is deputy lead for the BRC’s respiratory disease theme. He also leads the exacerbation prediction and aerosol emissions workstream.

He is clinical lead for the regional specialist NHS Asthma & COPD services and director of the airways research group, within the Academic Respiratory Unit which delivers interdisciplinary translational research in aerosol science, digital health, medical humanities and integrative epidemiology.

Prof Dodd declares honoraria or advisory work from AstraZeneca, GSK, Sanofi; support to attend conferences from Chiesi, Roche; organisation received externally sponsored research grant from GSK; clinical lead roles in COPD Biologics Respiratory Transformation Partnership and Adult Asthma National Respiratory Audit Programme.

Dr Neil Greening is Associate Professor at the University of Leicester and Honorary Consultant Respiratory Physician at Glenfield Hospital. His research programme focuses on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), particularly the impact of exacerbations requiring hospitalisation and their systemic effects on physical function, fitness, and muscle mass. He also leads interventional studies evaluating novel therapies to prevent and mitigate exacerbations.

He chairs the BTS COPD Specialist Advisory Group, contributes to the BTS pulmonary rehabilitation statement, and is part of the ERS CICERO network. He is Director of the Centre for Sarcopenia and Muscle Research, Deputy Director of the NIHR Leicester Clinical Research Facility, and clinical lead for the lung volume reduction and home oxygen services at Glenfield Hospital.

Dr Greening has no disclosures of relevance.

Professor Nicholas Hopkinson is a clinical academic based at The National Heart and Lung Institute of Imperial College on the Royal Brompton Hospital Campus.

His main research focus has been on non-pharmacological approaches to COPD care, including pulmonary physiology and lung volume reduction, skeletal muscle impairment and pulmonary rehabilitation. He is active in tobacco control research and advocacy and is Chair of Action on Smoking and Health ASH(UK), as well as Medical Director of Asthma + Lung UK.

Prof Hopkinson has no disclosures of relevance.

Babu Naidu is a Professor of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Birmingham and the Clinical Service Lead at University Hospitals Birmingham. He is a leading expert in advanced surgical therapies for emphysema, notably an early adopter of endobronchial coils and valves in the UK.  

​An established  researcher, Professor Naidu has secured over £10 million in funding for studies spanning prehabilitation, smoking cessation, and perioperative care. He currently leads the lung cancer screening program in the West Midlands and chairs the James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership to define future research goals for thoracic surgery. His extensive publication record includes over 120 peer-reviewed articles focusing on improving patient outcomes and recovery.

Prof Naidu has no disclosures of relevance.

Miss Oey has worked as an SAS doctor in the department of thoracic surgery in Leicester for over two decades. During this time she has been involved with the Leicester Lung Volume Reduction programme, especially organising the monthly LVR MDT meetings and running a dedicated LVR clinic. She also participated in LVR audit and research which resulted in national and international presentations, guidelines and publications.

Miss Oey has no disclosures of relevance.

Chris is a Consultant Respiratory Physician at the Royal Brompton Hospital, specialising in Interventional Bronchoscopy, Airways disease and Lung cancer. Embracing cutting-edge bronchoscopic techniques, he performs hundreds of bronchoscopies each year, including robotic navigation, robotic lung cancer ablation, endobronchial valve insertion, stent insertion, tumour debulking, and metered cryospray.

Holding broad research interests across Respiratory Medicine, a PhD in epithelial remodelling, and with an Honorary Clinical Senior Lectureship at Imperial College London, Chris enjoys supervising PhD students, and has written and delivered medical device, basic science and investigation of medicinal product studies.

Dr Orton declares consultancy, lecture fees, or reimbursements from CSA Medical, ERBE, Intuitive, and Pulmonx.

I graduated from the 162 year old University of Madras, and subsequently completed my post graduate training there in General Surgery.  Following my FRCS (Edinburgh) in 1996, I began my Cardiothoracic journey as a trainee on the Welsh rotation with specialist Thoracic training in the North West.  Following my FRCS (C-Th), I completed my International Fellowship in Minimal access surgery in Canada.  I have been a Thoracic Surgical Consultant in Manchester from 2011.

My passion is Minimal access surgery – both VATS and robotic. In addition to lung cancer surgery, my areas of interest include Airway surgery, Mediastinal pathology, Chest wall conditions and disorders of the diaphragm.

I am currently the National Audit Lead for Thoracic surgery with commissioning of the National Database as our primary project for 2026/27.

My other roles include – Former President of the Cardiothoracic Section, Royal Society of Medicine; former National Educational lead for Hospital Appointed Doctors, former Royal College tutor, Member of the Question Writing group for the Exit Exam, Co Chair of the Optimal Treatment Pathway for Lung Cancer, GM Cancer and a member of the National Thoracic Surgical Sub Committee reporting to the Executive.

Mr Rammohan has no disclosures of relevance.

Sridhar Rathinam is a Consultant Thoracic Surgeon and Head of Service at University Hospitals of Leicester. His clinical interests include parenchyma-preserving oncological lung resections, chest wall surgery, minimally invasive techniques, and surgery for emphysema.

His research focuses on lung cancer biomarkers and proteomics, lung volume reduction, thoracotomy pain, and perioperative care. He is the local Principal Investigator for NIHR portfolio studies including CELEB, HARP2, and TOPIC2. Nationally, he serves as Communication Secretary for the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery (SCTS) and has previously chaired the Intercollegiate Specialty Board Examination and the Cardiothoracic Surgical Specialty Board for the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. A strong advocate of simulation and digital learning, he co-developed the national portfolio of structured simulation-based thoracic course. He has published extensively across thoracic surgery and medical education.

Professor Karen C. Redmond, MB BCh BAO MD FRCS (CTh) is Chair of Thoracic Surgery at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital and University College Dublin. She currently serves as Treasurer of the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery in Great Britain and Ireland and is President-Elect of the Irish Thoracic Society. An internationally recognised thoracic and lung transplant surgeon, her clinical and academic focus includes lung volume reduction (LVR) surgery for advanced emphysema, lung transplantation, and complex airway reconstruction.

Professor Redmond has published extensively in leading peer-reviewed cardiothoracic and transplant journals on lung volume reduction surgery, minimally invasive thoracic techniques (VATS and robotic surgery), ex-vivo lung perfusion (EVLP), and outcomes in lung transplantation. She contributes to national and international guideline development and multidisciplinary care pathways for severe COPD and is a regular invited speaker at major thoracic and transplant meetings, presenting outcome data, surgical innovation, and service development strategies in advanced emphysema management.

Prof Redmond declares honoraria and proctorship fees from Pulmonx.

Tom is an NIHR Fellow and respiratory consultant with an interest in improving access to care for people with COPD.

Dr Ward has no disclosures of relevance.