Edwin Chilvers has been Professor of Respiratory Medicine at Cambridge since 1998. His research has focussed on the mechanisms of granulocyte priming and activation and subsequent apoptosis, concentrating on the basic mechanisms, particularly those involving lipid derived second messengers and the phosphoinositide pathway. His particular contribution to understanding mechanisms of neutrophil priming has been to show a role for P13-kinase activation in neutrophil priming and that such priming does not necessarily set the neutrophil on an irreversible pathway of activation. A further important recent contribution is in describing a mechanism for hypoxia induced inhibition of neutrophil apoptosis – which is probably important in enabling neutrophils to survive in a hypoxic environment. Professor Chilvers has been a champion for rebuilding the capacity for respiratory science in the UK and the importance of strengthening the scientific training of respiratory physicians.