Long-standing member of the European Respiratory Society (ERS), immediate Past President of the  ERS.  Director of the Children’s Hospital at the Evangelical Hospital in Düsseldorf, special interest in  paediatric allergy including severe asthma; diagnosis and treatment of food allergy in children.  Longstanding interest in early diagnosis of allergy and respiratory diseases and their origins, respiratory  physiology and lung function testing. Senior clinical advisor of the GINI study (German Infant Nutrition  Intervention); study center for phase 3 clinical trials in paediatric allergy and respiratory diseases.  Chair of the Asthma Working Group of the German speaking Society for Pediatric Pneumology (GPP),  board member of the West German Working Group for Pediatric Pneumology and Allergology  (WAPPA), board member of the Deutsche Atemwegsliga (DAL) and Deutsche Lungenstiftung (DLS).  Member of the editorial board of various specialist journals.  1988 - 2008 Medical training (assistant physician, senior physician) at Hannover Medical School:  further training in Paediatrics, specialization in Neonatology, additional qualifications in Allergology  and Paediatric Respiratory Medicine including the European Diploma.  Research fellowship at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK and Institute of Child Health,with  Prof.Janet Stocks