Meet the 2024 Winner: Ruth Barker Phd, MRes
Dr Ruth Barker is Highly Specialist Respiratory Physiotherapist, currently working as an Evaluation Programme Manager at Health Innovation Wessex, where she has developed knowledge and skills around implementation science, complex systems, and spread and adoption in the real-world setting.
She has been an active member of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) Assembly since 2016. She has taken an active role within the PR assembly and has been particularly committed to increasing the involvement of early career professionals within the assembly (Early Career Working group [ECWG] member 2018 - 2021, Incoming Chair of ECWG 2021, ECWG Chair 2022 to present).
Ruth contributes to the British Thoracic Society Advanced Practice in Pulmonary Rehabilitation course, is a reviewer for Asthma Lung UK to support research grant funding decisions, as well as is an invited speaker at national and international conferences to discuss strategies for spread and adoption of interventions.
Ruth successfully co-led the delivery of a global awareness campaign for World COPD Day 2023. This inaugural event brought together many organisations such as the International Primary Care Respiratory Group, Lung Health Foundation, COPD Support Ireland, COPD Foundation, Lung Foundation Australia, Dorney-Koppel Foundation, Asthma and Lung UK, The Lundquist Institute, European Lung Foundation, Global Allergy and Airways Platform, as well as international thoracic societies including ATS. This event was the first World COPD Day event which successfully brought together nations within one campaign to have a united voice and spread the same message: To raise awareness of the impact of living with COPD, and the benefits of staying active.
Ruth’s doctorate focused around the area of PR she is highly passionate about, interventions to improve access to and uptake of pulmonary rehabilitation following acute exacerbations of COPD. Since 2016 she has published 33 peer-reviewed articles, many in leading respiratory medicine journals. She has been growing her skillset in recent years to translate across to her respiratory roots, having published multiple grey literature outputs including full evaluation reports, action learning set deliverables, interactive toolkits, and blogs.
Description:
This award is given to a Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) Assembly member (primary or secondary) who has recognized scientific contribution(s) to the principles and practice of pulmonary rehabilitation and has made contributions to PR Assembly (and ATS) activities. Relevant research contributions may include but are not limited to: program structure, program content, outcomes or outcome measures, skeletal muscle dysfunction, exercise training, adjuncts to exercise training, mechanisms underlying benefits of PR, education, self- management, health-enhancing behavior change, social or psychological support, knowledge translation and program accreditation.
Criteria:
- At the time of submission nominees must be a maximum of 7 years from date of conferral of highest research degree, or, if no research degree, from date of first faculty appointment (career disruption will be considered).
Proposers must submit a nomination package including:
- Details and confirmation of the nominee’s status as a primary or secondary member of the PR Assembly
- Date of conferral of doctoral level degree
- Date of first faculty appointment (if applicable).
- A one page letter from a primary member of the Assembly describing the nominee’s contributions (including to the PR Assembly/ATS) and why the award is appropriate
- The nominee’s curriculum vitae, including details of career disruption where relevant.
Applications will be scored on the basis of the details provided in the submitted nomination.
Awards will only be given where suitable candidates are nominated.
View Previous Award Recipients
2023 - Enya Daynes, PhD, MSc, BS and Dmitry Rozenberg, MD, PhD, FRCPC
2022- Alex Jenkins, PhD
2021 - Heleen Demeyer, PT, PhD
2020 - Rachel Evans, MBChB, FRCP, PhD
2019 - Claire Marie Nolan, MSc, PhD, and Chris Burtin, PT, PhD
2018 - Narelle S. Cox, PhD, PT
2017 - William Man, MD, PhD
2016 - Frits Franssen, MD, PhD
2015 - Xavier Soler, PhD, MD
