BTS Council Elections
This year we are holding an election for Council. The successful candidates will become Council Members at the AGM in November 2026. We ask BTS members to review the candidate statements below and vote for five candidates.
Voting deadline
The deadline to submit your vote is 11.59 pm on Thursday 17 September 2026.
Who can vote?
All BTS members are entitled to vote and we encourage all members to take part.
How to vote
To vote, please follow the link below to log in and vote online. Votes can only be submitted through the online voting system.
Important information
Members should refrain from lobbying activities in relation to any of the candidates listed below. The ballot for Council will close at 11.59 pm on Thursday 17 September 2026.
Council applicant statements
Professor Andres Floto
Over the last few years, I have been a member of the BTS Science and Research Committee, and BTS Honorary Secretary, as well as being an active member of various SAGs in the past. I believe this gives me the experience to provide input into the BTS Council discussions and support the BTS mission statement. I am currently 4 years into a 6 year stint as Chair of Asthma + Lung UK Research Committee, which I believe gives me useful perspective to feed into discussions within the BTS.
Professor Rob Hallifax
I am a clinical academic respiratory consultant with a track record of delivering high-quality care, research and guideline writing. In my career so far, I have contributed significantly to the British Thoracic Society as an author on BTS Pleural Guidelines (2023) and Quality Standard for Pleural Disease (2026) and have been an Associate Editor of Thorax since 2021.
I am a world expert in the field of pneumothorax and pleural disease and have achieved some of the most cited papers in the world literature on pneumothorax. I have been a regular Keynote lecturer at national and international conferences and was recently selected to receive the mid-career BTS/A+LUK/BALR lecture award in 2026.
My clinical and research interests also include improving the care of patients with COPD: as a specialist committee member of NICE Healthtech Guidance “Digital technologies to support self-management of COPD” (2024) and a member of an All-party parliamentary roundtable group on “Transforming COPD care” in the House of Commons (2025).
As Respiratory Speciality Lead for the South Central NIHR Research Delivery Network, I am responsible for providing leadership, advice and accountability for speciality research activity, actively promoting clinical engagement and awareness of research within the region. I am a member of the NIHR Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) funding committee (since 2023), responsible for providing expert review and making funding decisions for clinical studies three times per year.
I would be an asset to the BTS council and relish the opportunity to advise the board and influence the Society’s policy.
Dr Alanna Hare
I have been delighted to be an active BTS member and Officer for several years, and hope I have made some meaningful contributions to the Society over that time. I would welcome the chance to continue this work on Council, particularly as we move towards important changes that build on work I helped lead as an Officer.
As Chair of Education and Training (2019–2023), I led the pivot of the 2021 Summer Meeting to an online format during COVID-19, and oversaw the move of national courses to online and then hybrid delivery, which delegates responded to well and which saw delegate numbers grow at both the Summer Meeting and our online short courses. I introduced short course standards and a review committee to support quality, and worked to broaden the gender and professional diversity of speakers and chairs at the Summer Meeting.
I also led the development of national training standards in thoracic ultrasound and in pleural procedures. Since 2023, as Treasurer, I have valued the opportunity to support good governance and financial stability, while also contributing to the Society's wider strategy and direction — helping ensure BTS continues to represent its membership and remain a key voice for the respiratory workforce.
Outside the BTS, I am a consultant in sleep and respiratory failure and currently serve as President of the British Sleep Society and as national clinical lead for sleep on the NHS England Elective Care Recovery pathway, which gives me a broader view of the training and workforce pressures facing our speciality.
Professor Luke Howard
I am a Consultant Respiratory Physician and Director of the National Pulmonary Hypertension Service at Imperial, and remain as enthusiastic about clinical respiratory medicine as I was when I started. I lead a busy specialist service and a high-volume exercise physiology laboratory that I established and developed into a tertiary referral service, while continuing to teach, undertake clinical research, contribute to national audit and service improvement, and help develop national and international guidelines.
I have greatly valued my previous involvement with the BTS, including as Chair of the Standards of Care Committee, Board member, and Trustee, and through leadership of major BTS guidelines. I would really welcome the opportunity to contribute again, bringing broad experience across clinical care, research, education, innovation, and national service delivery, as well as a genuine enthusiasm for the Society and the wider respiratory community.
Dr Anthony Martinelli
I am standing for BTS Council as a respiratory and general medicine physician with a track record of active service to the Society. As a Council member, I would aim to ensure the BTS upholds standards in respiratory care, maintains a broad educational output, and advocates for our patients.
Since 2022, I have contributed to the BTS through the Science & Research Committee and the Speciality Trainees Advisory Group: proposing and chairing sessions at the Winter and Summer Meetings, selecting abstracts, and helping analyse the national trainee survey. I am a member of the current Clinical Statement Group on Biologics and COPD, an Associate Editor of BMJ Open Respiratory Research, and I co-led a UK-wide multicentre evaluation of chest drain management delivered via the BTS INSPIRE network. I value the Society because it draws together the expertise and perspectives of the many talented members of the respiratory community and turns them into collaboration and action.
Beyond the BTS, I bring governance and leadership experience that would enhance my ability to contribute on Council. As a recent Co-Chair of the Royal College of Physicians Resident Doctor Committee, I sat on bodies including the Medical Training Review steering group and RCP Council at a challenging time for the organisation and helped deliver significant necessary reform. Outside medicine, several years as an elected city councillor have given me a practical understanding of how complex organisations are run and held to account.
If elected, I would serve diligently, representing the breadth of the BTS membership. In particular, I would always be very happy to hear directly from any colleague, whether wanting to share ideas, raise concerns, or simply have their say.
Dr Tariq Qureshi
I am seeking election to the British Thoracic Society Council because I am passionate about contributing to the future direction of respiratory medicine and representing the views and priorities of the wider BTS membership. I believe my clinical experience, leadership roles, multidisciplinary approach, and commitment to improving respiratory care would allow me to make a valuable contribution to Council discussions and BTS strategy.
I am a Respiratory Consultant with specialist interests in bronchiectasis, tuberculosis, complex respiratory infections, pleural disease, and lung cancer. In my current roles as Clinical Lead for Bronchiectasis and Tuberculosis, I work closely with patients across a broad range of respiratory conditions and I understand the challenges faced by both patients and healthcare professionals in delivering high-quality care within a changing NHS environment.
My clinical practice is strongly grounded in multidisciplinary collaboration, working closely with microbiologists, infectious diseases specialists, radiologists, oncologists, physiotherapists, specialist nurses, and wider healthcare teams. I have experience contributing to national respiratory initiatives through my previous role as an Advisory Member of the BTS Sleep Advisory Group and have developed an appreciation of the importance of BTS in shaping clinical standards, education, research, and policy.
I am actively involved in service development, quality improvement, guideline implementation, and research, including my role as Principal Investigator for my centre in the multicentre ESCAPE trial (Exacerbation and Symptom Control After Pseudomonas Eradication Treatment in Adult Bronchiectasis). Having worked in different healthcare environments, including the UK, India, and the UAE, I bring a broad perspective on respiratory healthcare delivery, inequalities in access to care, antimicrobial resistance, and the importance of adaptable and inclusive healthcare strategies.
If elected to Council, I would aim to represent the diverse views of BTS members, support effective communication between the membership and leadership, and contribute constructively to discussions around policy, education, workforce development, research, and quality improvement. I would be committed to ensuring that BTS continues to support clinicians at all stages of their careers while improving outcomes for patients with respiratory disease. It would be a privilege to serve on BTS Council and contribute to the Society’s continued growth and its mission to improve respiratory health.
Dr Ambika Talwar
The BTS has been a constant throughout my career, providing education, guidance, professional networks and opportunities for collaboration. As my career has progressed, I have increasingly enjoyed roles that extend beyond my own organisation, whether through regional training leadership, multicentre research collaborations or service development projects.
I am keen to join BTS Council because I would welcome the opportunity to contribute at a national level, work alongside colleagues from across the UK and help shape the future direction of respiratory medicine. I see Council as an opportunity not only to represent my own experiences, but also to learn from others and contribute to the collective expertise that makes BTS such an influential organisation.
What can I contribute? As a Consultant Respiratory Physician, Lung Nodule Service Lead, Joint Responsible Physician for The Oxfordshire Lung Cancer Screening Programme and Training Programme Director for Respiratory Medicine in Thames Valley, I bring experience across clinical care, education, workforce development, service transformation and research. Much of my work has involved building and implementing new services, bringing together multidisciplinary teams, and translating innovation into routine clinical practice. I have developed a practical understanding of how to lead change, overcome implementation challenges and balance innovation with governance, safety and workforce considerations.
What Ideas and priorities would I bring to Council? One area I am particularly passionate about is helping the BTS become an even stronger platform for national collaboration and shared learning through developing pulmonary nodule and lung cancer screening services. I have seen how many centres face similar challenges but often develop solutions independently. I would be interested in supporting initiatives that connect respiratory teams across the country, allowing services to share successful quality improvement projects, pathway redesigns and implementation experiences.
Whilst my own work has focused on diagnostics, Screening and AI-supported pathways, the principles underpinning this work are relevant across respiratory medicine; whether in airways disease, pleural services, ILD or lung cancer, there are opportunities to use data, technology and collaborative learning to improve outcomes. I would be particularly interested in exploring how the BTS could facilitate national benchmarking, innovation collaboratives and practical implementation networks, enabling members to learn from one another and spread successful ideas more rapidly across respiratory care.
Having developed and implemented change locally, I am now keen to help support collaboration and improvement at a national level. My enthusiasm for innovation is not innovation for its own sake, but innovation that improves patient care, supports staff and creates sustainable services for the future.