Scientific Programme

Programme Legend

The main programme, highlighted in blue in the synopsis, forms the backbone of the WBC 2026 Programme. It is open to all registered participants, except patients. The main programme is fully hybrid, available both on-site and virtually. For all participants, recordings of the main programme will be available a few hours after each day’s sessions, to facilitate virtual participation across different time zones.

As part of your conference experience, you may attend one parallel track on 25 June and one parallel track on 26 June.

The tracks are available to onsite participants. For virtual participants, all tracks will be available as recorded material the day after the live session. Some tracks may also be available live via streaming, depending on the number of pre-registered participants. You will be informed about this in the confirmation letter, which will be sent one week before the conference.

For professionals under 40.


RISING STARS’ SCIENCE SLAM

Four Rising Stars, selected through a rigorous process (see this page), will compete by presenting their valuable work in front of the conference audience and receiving feedback from the Conference Chairs.

The competition will be judged by:

  • The volume of audience applause, and
  • Evaluation by a Technical Jury from the Conference Organising Committee

The two winners will be awarded a prize at the end of the conference.


JUNIOR PROFESSIONALS MENTORING PROGRAMME

If you’re a junior professional, do take advantage of WBC’s limited-capacity workshops, taking place at lunchtime on 25th and 26th June.

These workshops have been specifically developed to enrich essential competencies for junior professionals, including  “soft skills” (and areas often overlooked during regular training).

Places are limited to a first come first served basis, so make sure you don’t miss out. Register and book your place immediately.

(A fee of €30 will be required for each workshop booked).

Each appointment lasts 10 minutes, so please prepare your questions or ideas to ensure a productive session.

List of Senior Professionals

Expert Name Meet the expert timings
Prof. Charles Daley 25 June 08:00 – 09:00
Dr Alfredo Pachas 25 June 08:00 – 09:00
Prof. Amelia Shoemark 25 June 08:00 – 09:00
Dr Shoshana Zha 25 June 08:00 – 09:00
Prof. Doreen Addrizzo-Harris 25 June 19:00 – 20:00
Mrs Lucy Burr 25 June 19:00 – 20:00
Prof. Sanjay H. Chotirmall 25 June 19:00 – 20:00
Prof. Anthony De Soyza 25 June 19:00 – 20:00
Prof. Yeon-Mok Oh 25 June 19:00 – 20:00
Prof. Judy Bradley 26 June 08:00 – 09:00
Prof. Anna-Maria Dittrich 26 June 08:00 – 09:00
Dr Patrick Flume 26 June 08:00 – 09:00
Dr Laura Garriga-Grimau 26 June 08:00 – 09:00
Prof. Ahmad Kantar 26 June 08:00 – 09:00
Prof. Timothy Aksamit 26 June 19:00 – 20:00
Prof. Raja Dhar 26 June 19:00 – 20:00
Prof. Pamela Jean McShane 26 June 19:00 – 20:00
Prof. Lucy Morgan 26 June 19:00 – 20:00
Prof. Michal Shteinberg 26 June 19:00 – 20:00
Prof. Oriol Sibila 26 June 19:00 – 20:00
Prof. Kevin Winthrop 26 June 19:00 – 20:00
Prof. Natalie Lorent 27 June 08:00 – 09:00
Prof. Ernest Poh 27 June 08:00 – 09:00
Prof. Rachel Thomson 27 June 08:00 – 09:00
Prof. Jin-fu Xu 27 June 08:00 – 09:00

JUNIOR PROFESSIONALS WORKSHOP

As a Junior professionals, you can benefit of small number workshops that will take place on 25 and 26 June at lunchtime.

The workshops are conceived to enrich the curriculum of junior professionals discussing soft skills normally not approached during the regular studies.

Places available are very limited on a first come first served basis so register as soon as possible and book your place. A fee of €30 will be required for each workshop booked.

List of workshops

Burning Cases in Bronchiectasis I
Thursday 25 June 2026, 13:00 – 14:00

Tips from the Journal Editors
Thursday 25 June 2026, 13:00 – 14:00

Burning Cases in Bronchiectasis II
Friday 26 June 2026, 13:00 – 14:00

How to design a clinical trial in bronchiectasis
Friday 26 June 2026, 13:00 – 14:00


BRONCHIECTASIS HEROES CONTEST

​To spice things up a bit, teams of professionals will compete to be crowned our “WBC2026 Bronchiectasis Heroes”.

Further information will be disclosed soon.

On the morning of June 24th, attendees will have the opportunity to join a small-group visit to the laboratories of MHH – Hannover Medical School.

Each participant will visit 5 out of the following laboratories (selection made by the organizer):

  1. Bronchiectasis Clinic, including:
    • Sputum induction with HTS
    • Nasal brushing biopsy
    • Midline catheter placement
    • Lung function laboratory (MBW/LCI, nasal NO; Ellen Behrens)
  2. CFTR Electrophysiology Laboratory
  3. Stem Cell & Cilia Laboratory
  4. Chest Radiology Multimedia Laboratory
  5. Clinical Microbiology Laboratory
  6. Human Genetic Laboratory
  7. Chest Physiotherapy
  8. Airway Metagenome Laboratory
  9. Macrophage Nursery


The laboratory visits are open to all registered congress participants (patients excluded). The participation fee is €120 per person.

Places are very limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

The German-language session at WBC2026 is a special 2-hour and 15-minute programme focusing on outpatient care for patients with bronchiectasis in private practice in Germany.

This session is aimed at respiratory medicine specialists in private practice as well as general practitioners.

The programme will cover the diagnosis and management of stable patients, as well as when and how to refer them to tertiary specialists.

The session is open to all congress participants (included in the conference registration fee).

This session is also included in the daily registration fee for 24 June (€90).

The session will be conducted entirely in German.

Deutschsprachiger Veranstaltungsteil

Der deutschsprachige Veranstaltungsteil des   WBC2026 ist ein spezielles 2-stündiges und 15-minütiges Programm, das sich auf die ambulante Versorgung von Patienten mit Bronchiektasen in niedergelassenen Praxen  in Deutschland konzentriert.
Die Session  richtet sich sowohl an Fachärzt:innen für Pneumologie  als auch an Hausärzt:innen.
Das Programm behandelt die Diagnostik und das Management stabiler Patienten sowie die Frage, wann und wie eine Überweisung an tertiäre Spezialist:innen erfolgen sollte.

Die Sitzung ist fĂĽr alle Kongressteilnehmer offen (in der Kongress RegistrierungsgebĂĽhr enthalten).

Diese Sitzung ist auch in der Tagesgebühr für den 24. Juni (90 €) enthalten.

Die Sitzung wird vollständig in deutscher Sprache durchgeführt.

Don’t forget – early-bird deadline ends 20th April 2026 - so make sure you register today and get your ticket.

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Introducing the Tobias Welte Award

Recognising mid-career leaders driving real impact in bronchiectasis.

Know someone making a real difference in bronchiectasis?

Nominate them by 3rd May

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