Meet the 2026 Awardee: Geoffrey N. Maksym, PhD
Geoffrey Maksym, PhD obtained his PhD with Dr. Jason Bates at the Meakins-Christie Laboratories, McGill University, and his post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Jeffrey Fredberg at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada, where he leads the Respiratory Cell and Lung Mechanics Laboratory.
Dr. Maksym greatly enjoys all things respiratory structure and function, including developing novel technologies from the cell to the patient. This included developing oscillatory magnetic- and optical- twisting cytometry to measure cellular and contractile mechanics, while at the human scale, included developing tools to measure respiratory mechanics. This led to co-founding Thorasys, and the development and commercialization of hand-held oscillometry. To him, all measurements lead to modelling. He has contributed to advancing analytical and finite element models of lung tissue behavior, and to ventilation imaging guided modelling using multi-branched airway trees to better understand heterogeneity in bronchoconstriction and dilation in health and asthma. His research also includes nonlinear dynamics and the temporal variation of respiratory impedance in health and disease.
A champion for biomedical engineering, he started as a young Whitaker Foundation fellow and has received and led large biomedical engineering training grants and programs. He served as the Director of the School of Biomedical Engineering for eleven years at Dalhousie University where he continues to enjoy teaching biomedical engineering, and mentoring his trainees, helping to launch the career of several professors and engineers in the respiratory medical technology industry. A great pleasure is collaborating and debating with his respiratory colleagues worldwide. Dr. Maksym enjoys contributing to his discipline and has served on many national and international grant review panels, organizing committees of both engineering and medical conference, and served as an associate editor for the Journal of Applied Physiology. A career highlight has been playing an active role in the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Respiratory Structure and Function (RSF) Assembly, contributing in various capacities from facilitating thematic poster sessions to chairing symposium sessions, and in particular to serving as programming chain.
Award Description
This award honors the life of Joseph Rodarte, M.D. Dr. Rodarte was a distinguished member of the American Thoracic Society and the Assembly on Respiratory Structure and Function. Dr. Rodarte was an international leader in the field of respiratory physiology and medicine and made invaluable contributions to our scientific and medical communities. RSF is proud to honor his memory with an award designated for an established investigator who has made distinguished contributions in the area of respiratory structure and function to the field of respiratory physiology and medicine. Nomination of diverse candidates is encouraged.
The award consists of a certificate and an honorarium, which will be presented at the ATS International Conference. RSF gratefully acknowledges Medical Graphics Corporation (MGC Diagnostics) for their support.
Criteria
- Associate professor, professor or equivalent with distinguished scientific achievement in area of respiratory structure and function that has had a sustained impact, over the nominee’s career, on the field of respiratory physiology and medicine
- Normally RSF Assembly membership, but suitable candidates from other ATS Assemblies will be considered
- Nominee’s current curriculum vitae including a list of nominee’s publications
- Nominator's letter of recommendation
- Support letters, which are optional but recommended
Nomination/ support letters should describe nominee's
- Research contributions, including impact in respiratory physiology and medicine
- Involvement in ATS, including any involvement in RSF Assembly
- Service to the broader scientific or medical community
- Mentorship or teaching record