Intermountain Press Release

Salt Lake City—Robert O. Crapo, M.D., medical director of the pulmonary laboratory at LDS Hospital who helped pioneer pulmonary function testing standards now used around the world, is the recipient of the 2006 distinguished scientist award from the American College of Chest Physicians.

The prestigious award is presented annually by the college to a well-respected and published original investigator in pulmonary clinical physiology. The American College of Chest Physicians is the world's largest clinical cardiopulmonary and critical care medical society with 16,600 members in 100 countries. Members include physicians, allied health professionals, and PhDs from the specialties of pulmonology, critical care medicine, thoracic surgery, cardiology, sleep, and other chest-related specialties.

"Dr. Crapo is a unique pulmonary physician whose accomplishments stand head and shoulders above the rest. He has extended the frontier in the fight against lung disease by pushing his enormous potential to the limit," says C. Gregory Elliott, M.D., chief of the pulmonary division at LDS Hospital.

Dr. Crapo and his colleagues at LDS Hospital have published numerous studies that have defined normal values for pulmonary function tests. He also helped define methods of assessing pulmonary function in patients that are now used around the globe. This has led to the standardization of nearly all pulmonary function equipment.

Dr. Crapo serves on the National Heart and Lung's Asthma Clinical Research Network Protocol Review Committee. He has been a member of the American Thoracic Society Committee on proficiency standards for clinical pulmonary laboratories since 1983 and has chaired the committee since 1993. The committee most recently completed international standards for pulmonary function testing in collaboration with the European Respiratory Society.