About The Netherlands Respiratory Society
History
The NRS was founded on 19th March 2009 with the aim to form a platform and provide coordination for respiratory research in the Netherlands. Clinical and basic research into respiratory disorders in the Netherlands involves researchers from a variety of research disciplines, including clinical researchers (such as pulmonologists, ENT specialists, allergologists, and paediatricians), basic scientists (including cell biologists, immunologists, pharmacologists, geneticists and epidemiologists), and researchers active in health care and human technology assessment research.
Mission
“To foster a vibrant Dutch respiratory research community devoted to improving the lives of patients living with respiratory diseases.”
Vision
In several research areas excellent lung research is being conducted in the Netherlands, both in the basic and clinical science domains. This is evident from international ratings where several fields of research are highly listed. A good part of the success is based on collaboration, within and between research institutes, hospitals and universities, and this should be extended further. We want to improve the level and output of research even further, optimize collaboration, foster young researchers and spread awareness inside and outside the respiratory community.
Compared with other areas of research, there is only limited funding available for lung research from charities, government, and European research foundations. Lung Research is also insufficiently visible and the attention that it receives does not match the severity of the various lung diseases. The NRS strives to create more attention for lung research from society, politics and finance to counter the serious physical, psychological, social and economic impact of lung disease.
Strategy
To achieve its goals, the NRS will use:
- scientific meetings, to be organized at least once every year
- training of researchers: organisation of a yearly educational meeting
- task forces to facilitate collaborations between researchers from various disciplines and institutes on a topic
- advocacy to increase visibility of the outcomes of respiratory research for the general public and policy makers, and to increase funding opportunities for respiratory research
