Professor Tamera Corte wins American Thoracic Society International Award for her leadership in research and treatment of interstitial lung disease.

Professor Tamera Corte, Director of Interstitial Lung Disease at Royal Prince Alfred (RPA) Hospital, has been named the 2025 winner of the American Thoracic Society’s (ATS) Assembly on Clinical Problems International ATS Member Award. 

“I feel very honoured. It’s a special thing to have achieved,” she said.  

The award honours an individual’s contributions to their field through research, mentoring colleagues in research or clinical care, or education for non-specialist medical professionals. Professor Corte’s multi-faceted work was judged to meet and exceed the award criteria, as was her vision to improve and extend the lives of patients living with interstitial lung disease, also known as pulmonary fibrosis. 

“Experts in ILD work closely together, we’re a relatively small, closeknit group,” she said. “I set up the Centre for Research Excellence of Pulmonary Fibrosis with a national infrastructure for pulmonary fibrosis research in Australia, and a bi-national registry across Australia and New Zealand, and I think it’s that leadership, in addition to leading clinical trials, is probably something they're recognising with this award. 

“While I have the honour of receiving the award, it really is recognition of a big team effort There are a lot of people in the RPA ILD Unit who work tirelessly to make it an absolutely fantastic, patient-focused service, so I want to thank the ILD Unit and our District colleagues who support the service.” 

Professor Corte is renowned for demonstrating excellence, be it at the patient’s bedside or developing national frameworks to recognise and treat Interstitial Lung Disease. She said insights gained through her role as a Consultant Respiratory Physician and Director of Interstitial Lung Disease in RPA’s Department of Respiratory Medicine guide her research at University of Sydney, as the Centre of Research Excellence in Pulmonary Fibrosis’ lead investigator, in her membership of multiple committees for ILD clinical trials and as Chair of the Australasian Interstitial Lung Disease Registry. 

Professor Corte has been recognised in local awards: in 2022, she won both the RPA Research Medal and the University of Sydney Makers and Shapers Award. In May 2025, she’ll take the stage with global leaders in ILD when she receives the ATS Clinical Problems Award at the ATS 2025 International Conference in San Francisco 

For more information about Prof Corte’s research, visit the web page of the Centre of Research Excellence in Pulmonary Fibrosis  

For information about support for people living with ILD, visit the web page of the RPA Hospital Interstitial Lung Disease Unit