As the GSK Scholar, Dr. Martin will create and manage an original educational project that will help disseminate new knowledge about respiratory health and advance the creation of best practices in patient care. Dr. Martin will receive an annual stipend over a three-year period and then serve in a mentorship role on a Distinguished Scholar Advisory Council.
"The Distinguished Scholar program allows specialists like Dr. Martin to take a different approach to research and pursue groundbreaking work in respiratory health," said Diane E. Stover, MD, FCCP, President of The CHEST Foundation. "Their efforts will have a significant impact on future generations."
In accordance with the award guidelines, the GSK Scholar is required to address one of the major respiratory disorders encompassed by ACCP members' clinical specialties, such as asthma and COPD. Dr. Martin will investigate how to implement the asthma guidelines established by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) into the primary care practice and how to educate the public about the guidelines. Working with ACCP and other medical organizations, Dr. Martin will develop a program that takes a coordinated approach to asthma education, targeted to both physicians and other caregivers and to individual patients and their families.
"By endowing the Distinguished Scholar, GSK highlights the importance of giving scholars an opportunity to develop new scientific innovations to benefit physicians and their patients," said Richard S. Irwin, MD, FCCP, President of the American College of Chest Physicians. "The collaboration between the ACCP and GlaxoSmithKline will make a difference in the treatment of respiratory disorders and enable physicians to provide quality care that is patient-focused."
CHEST 2003 is the 69th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians, being held in Orlando, October 25-30. ACCP represents more than 15,700 members who provide clinical respiratory, critical care, and cardiothoracic patient care in the United States and throughout the world. ACCP's mission is to promote the prevention and treatment of diseases of the chest through leadership, education, research, and communication.
GlaxoSmithKline – one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and health-care companies – is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better, and live longer.
For more information about the Distinguished Scholar program, visit www.chestfoundation.org.
NOTE TO MEDIA: The Distinguished Scholar Award will be presented during the Convocation Awards Ceremony at CHEST 2003 in Orlando, Florida. Convocation will be held on Sunday, October 26, in Osceola Ballroom C-D of the Gaylord Palms, 6:00-7:30 pm.