Recognition of research spanning more than 25 years
Professor David Berlowitz was awarded at the annual conference of the American College of Chest Physicians.
Professor David Berlowitz was recently recognised for his significant contributions to the care of people receiving home mechanical ventilation, at the annual conference of the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), held in Honolulu from 8-11 October. Prof Berlowitz was a featured speaker at this conference which hosted over 7,000 attendees from more than 55 countries. He delivered the CHEST 2023 Margaret Pfrommer Endowed Memorial Lecture in Home-based Mechanical Ventilation, an invited lecture established in 1999 to honour Margaret Pfrommer, a polio survivor and patient advocate. The award is presented to a clinician who has advanced mechanical ventilation by improving the care of people receiving home mechanical ventilation and fostering partnerships between ventilator users and health professionals. Prof Berlowitz presented his program of research spanning more than 25 years: ‘Sleep disordered breathing after spinal cord injury’.
While obtaining his PhD, Berlowitz discovered that cervical spinal cord injury causes immediate obstructive sleep apnea. This novel finding alerted the world to the previously unrecognised problem of immediate and severe sleep disordered breathing in tetraplegia. He now collaborates internationally and leads a research team examining the causes and treatments of breathing and sleep disorders in neuromuscular disease, especially amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and after spinal cord injury.
Berlowitz's research encompasses respiratory physiology, sleep, health systems research, and clinical trials of therapies and care models. His current research trials focus on improving access and uptake of ventilatory support, using ventilator-recorded data and artificial intelligence to optimize NIV, and multi-centre clinical trials testing therapies to augment neuroplasticity after spinal cord injury, and investigating whether polysomnographic titration of non-invasive ventilation in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis modifies usage.
