Meet the 2025 Winners: Taylor Coston, MD, MPH and Merete Long, BSc, MSc, PhD
Taylor Coston is a Research Fellow in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle. He investigates the host response to lung infection across diverse populations and pathogens.
Merete B. Long, BsC, MsC, PhD, is a Research Fellow in Respiratory Science at the University of Dundee, UK, working in the laboratory of Professor James Chalmers. Her research focuses on the characterisation and modulation of immune function and inflammation in lung diseases including bronchiectasis and COVID-19.
Dr. Long earned her MSc in Bioscience between Keele University (UK) and Leiden University (The Netherlands) in 2014, followed by a PhD in Pathobiology from the University of Sheffield in 2020. Her doctoral work investigated neutrophil-mediated epithelial damage in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
She currently serves as an Associate Editor for ERJ Open Research, Publications Secretary for the British Association of Lung Research (BALR), and Early Career Representative for the UK Cell Adhesion Society. She was awarded the BTS/BALR Young Investigator Award for her research on neutrophils in COVID-19 in 2022.
Her recent work integrates proteomic, transcriptomic, and functional approaches to study immune cell changes and explores therapeutic strategies including monoclonal antibodies for bacterial infection and protease inhibitors to reduce neutrophilic airway inflammation in bronchiectasis. Her translational research aims to identify novel therapeutic targets and assess the immunomodulatory effects of current and emerging treatments by embedding these approaches within clinical trials enabling bench-to-bedside research to improve clinical outcomes in respiratory diseases.
Description
This award is given to a PI-TB member with research contribution(s) in the area(s) of basic science, translational research, and/or "bedside to community" (i.e. implementation) research. Up to two awardees will be chosen for this program. They will showcase their research by each giving a 15-minute talk in one of two sessions featuring “Rising Stars.” Winners of the Rising Stars of Research Program from AII, PI-TB, RCMB, and RSF Assemblies will present their work at the Science and Innovation Center during the ATS International Conference. Certificates will also be awarded during that session.
Criteria
- In-Training, Instructor, Assistant Professor, or equivalent
- Within 10 years of having completed postdoctoral or clinical training, excluding time off for personal circumstances
- PI-TB Assembly Member (primary or secondary)
- Contribution(s) in basic, translational science, and/or “bedside to community” (implementation) research
- Has presented an abstract at ATS within 5 years that demonstrates the nominee’s research interests
- Junior-level nominees may also be considered for a Rising Star Award, based on research.
Submission:
- Nomination letter by sponsor(s) (2-page limit)
- Updated CV or biosketch of candidate