Presidents

President: Neil S. Freedman, MD, FCCP

Neil S. Freedman, MD, FCCP, is a pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine physician with a background in clinical care, health care leadership, quality, financial oversight, education, and advocacy. He currently is the President of the Endeavor Health Medical Group, Specialty Care, and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.

Dr. Freedman received his undergraduate degree at Washington & Jefferson College and medical degree from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai He completed his residency and fellowship in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Over the past two decades, Dr. Freedman’s clinical and leadership experiences have spanned the spectrum of private practice, system-employed physician, and leadership roles, including Division Head for Pulmonary and Critical Care for more than eight years, President of two separate professional staffs, and system oversight of acute care medicine. He has overseen credentialing, hospital quality, professional staff development, physician compensation, and the acute care provider care models and strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most recently, Dr. Freedman served as President of NorthShore Medical Group, where he led more than 1,200 physicians in a multispecialty physician practice. He played an integral role in the strategic planning and development of what is now the Endeavor Health Medical Group.

Dr. Freedman has had the honor of participating as faculty or Chair for more than 300 presentations at national and international meetings on the topics of sleep medicine, pulmonary medicine, critical care medicine, and the business of medicine and has been recognized for his educational efforts with the Distinguished CHEST Educator designation since 2017. He has been extremely active within the leadership of CHEST and has held CHEST leadership positions across the organization since 2006, most notably including the following: member of the Education Committee, Chair of the Sleep Medicine Network, Chair of the CHEST Annual Meeting 2016, member of the CHEST Foundation Board of Trustees, Deputy Editor of CHEST SEEK^® Sleep Medicine (2014), member of the Joint Finance Oversight Committee (2008-2017), member and Chair of the CHEST Sleep Medicine Board Review course (2009-2016), Chair of the Health Policy and Advocacy Committee (2020-2021), Chair of the Oxygen Access and Education Work Group (2021-2023), and Chair of the Finance Committee (2022-2024). He has served as a Regent-at-Large on the CHEST Board of Regents and currently serves as a member of the Finance Committee.

Dr. Freedman serves as the 88th President of the American College of Chest Physicians.

President-Elect: Lisa K. Moores, MD, FCCP

Lisa K. Moores, MD, FCCP, is the Associate Dean for Assessment and Professional Development and Professor of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD. She received her medical degree from the Uniformed Services University in 1989 and then completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. Upon graduation from her fellowship, she was awarded the Outstanding Graduating Fellow Award and the Baily K. Ashford Award for Outstanding Clinical Research. Prior to her current role, Dr. Moores has had several educational leadership roles at the Uniformed Services University that include Associate Clerkship Director for the Internal Medicine Clerkship, Assistant Dean for Clinical Sciences, and Associate Dean for Student Affairs. Dr. Moores served 30 years in the Army Medical Corps, retiring from active duty in 2019, at which time she assumed her current role at the Uniformed Services University.

Throughout her career, she has been awarded several teaching awards, including the Walter Reed Department of Medicine Outstanding Teacher; the Army Internal Medicine Master Teacher Award; the William P. Clements Award for Outstanding Military Educator; CHEST’s Edward C. Rosenow, MD, Master FCCP, Master Teacher Honor Lecture; the American College of Physicians Jane F. Desforges Distinguished Teacher Award; the 2018 CHEST Master Clinician Educator Award; and the Distinguished CHEST Educator designation since 2017. Dr. Moores is a Master of the American College of Physicians and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.

Dr. Moores began her CHEST career on the Affiliate Committee, co-founding CHEST Challenge with Drs. Tom Fitzpatrick and William Kelly. During her leadership tenure over the past three decades, Dr. Moores has served on the Scientific Program Committee, including serving as the Scientific Program Committee Chair for the 2009 meeting in San Diego; chaired the Education Committee and Council of Networks; served on the CHEST SEEK^® Pulmonary Medicine and CHEST SEEK^® Critical Care Medicine Editorial Board; chaired CHEST Pulmonary Medicine Board Review; and served as CHEST Foundation President from 2017 to 2018. Dr. Moores was Chair of the Guidelines Oversight Committee from 2022 to 2024 and has chaired multiple CHEST antithrombotic guidelines. She is an author on the Thromboprophylaxis in Patients With COVID-19 guideline. has more than 100 invited presentations and more than 70 published journal articles and book chapters, which reflect her interests in VTE, medical education, and adult learning.

Dr. Moores will serve as the 89th President of the American College of Chest Physicians in 2027.

President-Designate: Alexander S. Niven, MD, FCCP

Alexander S. Niven, MD, FCCP, is a Consultant in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, and Professor of Medicine in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. He is the Education Chair for his division and the Critical Care Independent Multispecialty Practice, as well as the Enterprise Co-Director of the Mayo Clinic Academy of Educational Excellence. He also serves as the Medical Co-Director for the Pulmonary Function Laboratory in Rochester, MN. A practicing general pulmonary/critical care physician with 25 years of clinical experience, Dr. Niven has served as a co-director for the CERTAIN international critical care program since 2016.

Dr. Niven received his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, MA, and completed his Internal Medicine Residency and Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. Dr. Niven retired from the US Army Medical Department after 21 years of active duty service in 2016, during which he held numerous leadership positions and earned multiple awards, including the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, and membership in the Order of Military Medical Merit.

As a clinician educator, Dr. Niven has received many prestigious teaching awards over the course of his career, including the Master Teacher Award from the American College of Physicians Army Chapter; the CHEST Edward C. Rosenow, MD, Master FCCP, Master Teacher Honor Lecture; the Society of Critical Care Medicine Silver Snapshot Award; and the Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development Outstanding International Faculty of the Year. He has received the Distinguished CHEST Educator designation every year since its creation in 2017 and a nomination to the CHEST 2020 Hall of Heroes for his work during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has published more than 160 peer-reviewed articles, abstracts, and book chapters, with active research interests in critical care education and pulmonary function testing.

Dr. Niven was first introduced to CHEST during his first annual meeting as a fellow in 1998. His contributions began in the Critical Care Network, culminating in service as its Chair. He was a founding member of CHEST’s Simulation Education Program and led the development of its programs as Chair of the CHEST Simulation Work Group and Medical Director of CHEST’s Innovation, Simulation, and Training Center. He was recognized with a CHEST Presidential Citation for exceptional service and dedication hrough simulation-Based Education for his contributions to make CHEST the only medical society accredited by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare.

He has served for many years on the CHEST Executive Scientific Program Committee and was Program Co-Chair for the CHEST Annual Meeting 2015. He has been a member of the CHEST SEEK^® Critical Care Medicine Editorial Board since 2011, CHEST Critical Care Medicine Board Review faculty since 2018, and CHEST Journal CME Editorial Board since 2023. He was a member of the CHEST Education Committee for 10 years and served as its Chair from 2017 to 2019.

Dr. Niven has been an at-large member of the CHEST Board of Regents since 2019. During his tenure, he helped form the CHEST Wellness Task Force in 2020, which launched a six-month Wellness Webinar Series and created the CHEST Wellness Center. He is the current Chair of the CHEST Finance Committee.

Dr. Niven will serve as the 90th President of the American College of Chest Physicians in 2028.

Past President: John Howington, MD, MBA, FCCP

John Howington, MD, MBA, FCCP, is a practicing thoracic surgeon currently at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, St. Michael Medical Center, in Silverdale, Washington. He serves as the Executive Medical Director for the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Center for Cardiovascular Health.

Dr. Howington received his undergraduate degree from Tennessee Technological University and medical degree from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. He completed his general surgery residency at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and thoracic surgery residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Most recently, he received his Physician Executive MBA from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Dr. Howington has participated in and published more than 50 research publications and guidelines, as well as numerous book chapters, and he has presented hundreds of lectures internationally. As a passionate thoracic surgeon, he has lent his knowledge to the extensive CHEST lung cancer guideline portfolio for more than a decade. He offers regular leadership in multidisciplinary and executive forums and has spearheaded a series of quality improvement initiatives at his previous institutions. He has served in a variety of leadership roles with CHEST and with other national thoracic surgery societies. He was recognized in September of 2025 as an Outstanding Alumnus by the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine.

Dr. Howington began his CHEST leadership journey with the Networks, as a member of the Interventional Chest Medicine Steering Committee and then as Thoracic Oncology Network Chair (2008-2010). Other leadership positions include serving as the President of the CHEST Foundation (2014-2016), a member of the Scientific Program Committee and Membership Committee, and, most recently, the Chair of the Finance Committee (2018-2021). Since 2017, he has served on the CHEST Board of Regents. Dr. Howington served as the 87th President of the American College of Chest Physicians.

CHEST Past Presidents

2025: John Howington, MD, MBA, FCCP
2024: Jack D. Buckley, MD, MPH, FCCP
2023: Doreen Addrizzo-Harris, MD, FCCP
2022: David Schulman, MD, MPH, FCCP
2020-2021: Steven Q. Simpson, MD, FCCP
2019-2020: Stephanie M. Levine, MD, FCCP
2018-2019: Clayton T. Cowl, MD, MS, FCCP
2017-2018: John E. Studdard, MD, Master FCCP
2016-2017: Gerard A. Silvestri, MD, MS, Master FCCP
2015-2016: Barbara A. Phillips, MD, MSPH, FCCP
2014-2015: Curtis N. Sessler, MD, Master FCCP
2013-2014: Michael H. Baumann, MD, MS, FCCP
2012-2013: Darcy D. Marciniuk, MD, Master FCCP
2011-2012: Suhail Raoof, MD, Master FCCP
2010-2011: David D. Gutterman, MD, Master FCCP
2009-2010: Kalpalatha K. Guntupalli, MD, Master FCCP
2008-2009: James A. L. Mathers, Jr., MD, FCCP
2007-2008: Alvin V. Thomas, Jr., MD, FCCP
2006-2007: Mark J. Rosen, MD, Master FCCP*
2005-2006: W. Michael Alberts, MD, Master FCCP
2004-2005: Paul A. Kvale, MD, FCCP, Master FCCP*
2003-2004: Richard S. Irwin, MD, Master FCCP
2002-2003: Udaya B. S. Prakash, MD, FCCP, Master FCCP
2001-2002: Sidney S. Braman, MD, Master FCCP
2000-2001: Robert G. Johnson, MD, Master FCCP
1999-2000: Susan K. Pingleton, MD, FCCP, Master FCCP
1998-1999: Allen I. Goldberg, MD, Master FCCP
1997-1998: D. Robert McCaffree, MD, Master FCCP
1996-1997: Bart Chernow, MD, Master FCCP
1995-1996: Deborah Shure, MD, Master FCCP
1994-1995: James B. D. Mark, MD, FCCP*
1993-1994: Ronald B. George, MD, Master FCCP*
1992-1993: Paul D. Stein, MD, Master FCCP*
1991-1992: Roger C. Bone, MD, Master FCCP*
1990-1991: Alex G. Little, MD, FCCP
1989-1990: Edward C. Rosenow III, MD, Master FCCP*
1988-1989: Marvin I. Dunn, MD, Master FCCP*
1987-1988: A. Jay Block, MD, Master FCCP*
1986-1987: Lawrence H. Cohn, MD, FCCP*
1985-1986: James E. Dalen, MD, MPH, Master FCCP*
1984-1985: Dick D. Briggs, Jr., MD, Master FCCP
1983-1984: Sylvan Lee Weinberg, MD, FCCP*
1982-1983: W. Gerald Rainer, MD, FCCP*
1981-1982: Thomas L. Petty, MD, Master FCCP*
1980-1981: John G. Weg, MD, Master FCCP*
1979-1980: Leon Resnekov, MD, FCCP*
1978-1979: Harold C. Urschel, Jr., MD, FCCP*
1977-1978: Joseph C. Ross, MD, FCCP*
1976-1977: Matthew B. Divertie, MD, FCCP*
1975-1976: Crawford W. Adams, MD, FCCP*
1974-1975: Arthur C. Beall, Jr., MD, FCCP*
1973-1974: Howard S. Van Ordstrand, MD, FCCP*
1972-1973: Albert H. Andrews, MD, FCCP*
1971-1972: David P. Boyd, MD, FCCP*
1970-1971: Arthur M. Master, MD, FCCP*
1969-1970: Arthur M. Olsen, MD, Master FCCP*
1968-1969: Coleman B. Rabin, MD, FCCP*
1967-1968: William E. Adams, MD, FCCP*
1966-1967: Howell S. Randolph, MD, FCCP*
1965-1966: Oliver K. Niess, MD, FCCP*
1964-1965: Alfred Goldman, MD, FCCP*
1963-1964: Charles K. Petter, MD, FCCP*
1962-1963: John F. Briggs, MD, FCCP*
1961-1962: Hollis E. Johnson, MD, FCCP*
1960-1961: M. Jay Filpse, MD, FCCP*
1959-1960: Seymour M. Farber, MD, FCCP*
1958-1959: Donald R. McKay, MD, FCCP*
1957-1958: Burgess L. Gordon, MD, FCCP*
1956-1957: Herman J. Moersch, MD, FCCP*
1955-1956: James H. Stygall, MD, FCCP*
1954-1955: William A. Hudson, MD, FCCP*
1953-1954: Alvis E. Greer, MD, FCCP*
1952-1953: Andrew L. Banyai, MD, FCCP*
1951-1952: Chevalier L. Jackson, MD, FCCP*
1950-1951: Louis Mark, MD, FCCP*
1949-1950: Joseph C. Placak, Sr., MD, FCCP*
1948-1949: Richard H. Overholt, MD, FCCP*
1947-1948: Shelly U. Marietta, MD, FCCP*
1946-1947: Charles M. Henricks, MD, FCCP*
1944-1946: Jay Arthur Myers, MD, FCCP*
1942-1944: J. Winthrop Peabody, Sr., MD, FCCP*
1941-1942: Benjamin Goldberg, MD, FCCP*
1940-1941: John H. Peck, MD, FCCP*
1939-1940: Ralph C. Matson, MD, FCCP*
1938-1939: Champ H. Holmes, MD, FCCP*
1937-1938: Edward W. Hayes, Sr., MD, FCCP*
1935-1937: William Devitt, MD, FCCP*

* = Deceased