Steering Committee Bios

Matteo Bassetti is Head of the Infectious Diseases Clinic at the Policlinico San Martino University Hospital in Genoa, and Full Professor of Infectious Diseases of the University of Genoa, Italy.



Dr. Bassetti studied at the University of Genoa School of Medicine, and continued his medical education at the Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, USA, with an Infectious Diseases fellowship.

Dr. Bassetti is Chair of the Critically Ill Study Group of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID), president of the Italian Society of Anti-infective Therapy (SITA), and member of executive committee for the battle against antimicrobial resistance of the Italian Minister of Health (PNCAR). From 2022 to today, he is spokesman of the Italian Scientists Association (ISA).



He serves on the editorial board of several prestigious international journals, and he is author or co-author of more than 1000 papers (H index 117; 60000 citations) published in international peer-review journals and several chapters in books on COVID-19, antibiotic therapy, fungal infections, antimicrobial resistances, infections in immunocompromised patients and critically ill patients.

Prof. Philipp Latzin is Head of Pediatric Pulmonology at the University Children’s Hospital Bern and Professor at the University of Bern. 

He earned his MD from the University of Munich and a PhD in Epidemiology and Respiratory Physiology in Bern. His research focuses on developmental lung physiology, environmental impacts on respiratory health, and innovative lung function diagnostics. 

He has led international studies on cystic fibrosis, infant lung testing, and is a recognized leader in pediatric pulmonology. 

Prof. Manuel Soto-Martínez is a pediatric pulmonologist and sleep physician in the Department of Pediatrics, Hospital Nacional de Niños “Dr. Carlos Saenz Herrera”, Caja Costarricense Seguro Social.
He is also a Professor of Pediatrics at the School of Medicine, Universidad de Costa Rica.

He has a masters in research and clinical epidemiology and received his training at the Royal Children´s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia and in the USA.

Prof. Soto-Martínez specializes in pediatric respiratory medicine, sleep disorders, and epidemiology.
With over 20 years of experience, he is a recognized leader in pediatric respiratory health.

Passionate about clinical research, he is an active member of the Latin American Thoracic Society, the European Respiratory Society, and the American Thoracic Society.
He is also a founding member of the International Society of Pediatric Respiratory Diseases (INSPiRED) and serves on the international expert panel for REACH (Respiratory Infection Advisory Council in Children).

Dr. José Tirán-Saucedo is a gynecologist and obstetrician based in Monterrey, Mexico. He is Managing Director of the Mexican Institute for Infectious Diseases in Obstetrics and Gynecology and OBGYN Program Director at the University of Monterrey/Christus Health. 

He trained at ITESM and the Woman’s Hospital of Texas. A Fellow of ACOG and recertified by the Mexican Council of Gynecology and Obstetrics, he received ACOG’s “Mentor of the Year” award in 2016 and a civic honor from French President Jacques Chirac in 2006. 

He has authored numerous publications and delivered over 1,200 lectures worldwide. He currently chairs ACOG’s Mexico Section, District VII.

Prof. Erika von Mutius is a professor of pediatric allergology at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich and director of the Institute of Asthma and Allergy Prevention at the Helmholtz Centre, Munich.

Her research focuses on the environmental and genetic origins of asthma and allergies in children.

A recipient of the Leibniz Prize, Prof. von Mutius has led landmark studies on farm environments and allergy prevention.

Prof. Fu-Qiang Wen is a Professor of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine at West China Hospital, Sichuan University, and Director of the Division of Pulmonary Diseases at the State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy.

A global expert in COPD and respiratory infections, he has authored over 200 international publications and holds multiple national patents. He trained in Japan and the US, and is an Honorary Professor at the University of Sydney. His work has been cited in top journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, and Nature.