Kaz Ito, PhD, is currently a professor (Principal Research Fellow) of Respiratory Molecular Pharmacology at the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) at Imperial College London. His unique career has combined academia, industry, and biotech work experiences. He has been at Imperial College London (incl. Reader, honorary professor) for 22 years, and his work has ranged from basic and translational science to drug discovery and clinical science in respiratory diseases, with a particular focus on respiratory infection, inflammation, and premature aging. Dr. Ito has authored and co-authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, including articles in the New England Journal of Medicine. In addition to his research work at Sankyo and J&J, he also co-founded 3 biotech companies working on the identification of new inhaled medicines for respiratory viruses and fungal infections. He has a PhD in Veterinary Medicine from Hokkaido University in Japan.