Kenneth R Chapman, MSc, MD, FRCPC, FACP, FERS

Clinician Investigator, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute (TGHRI)
Keywords: asthma, respiratory illness, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Professor Kenneth Chapman the first recipient of the University Health Network's GSK-CIHR Chair in Respiratory Healthcare Delivery. This multi-year award recognizes and encourages his broad program of research designed to assess, improve and disseminate optimal strategies for managing the common respiratory illnesses, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Dr. Chapman is an internationally respected researcher in the field of asthma, COPD and airway diseases; his publications have appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine and Lancet. The titles of more than 400 publications have ranged from " Emergency medical services for outdoor rock music festivals" to "The effect of posture on thoracoabdominal movements during progressive hyperoxic hypercapnia in conscious man" . With more the 6,000 citations to his work, Professor Chapman is in the top 1% of cited medical researchers.

Dr. Chapman is currently Director of the Asthma and Airway Centre of the University Health Network and Director of the Canadian Registry for Alpha1 Antitrypsin Deficiency. Previously, he was the Canadian Network for Asthma Care. His academic appointments are as Professor of Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine with a cross-appointment to the School of Graduate Studies (Institute of Medical Science). He has supervised graduate students of varied backgrounds at the MSc and PhD levels.
  • Asthma management strategies
    It is now a standard of care that patients with unstable asthma are given a short course of oral steroids in hospital emergency rooms, walk-in clinics and offices to allow their safe discharge home. This strategy was first examined rigorously by Dr. Chapman and his colleagues who published their pivotal study in the New England Journal of Medicine (see below). This was followed by other studies examining the optimal strategies for managing asthma.

    • Chapman KR, Verbeek, PR, White JG, Rebuck AS. Effect of a short course oral prednisone in the prevention of early relapse after the emergency room treatment of acute asthma. N Engl J Med 1991; 324: 788-794.

    • Chapman KR, Kesten S, Szalai JP. Regular versus as-needed use of inhaled salbutamol in asthma control. Lancet 1994; 1379-1382.

    • Hanania NA, Chapman KR, Sturtridge WC, Kesten S. Dose-related decrease in bone density among asthmatic patients treated with inhaled corticosteroids. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1995; 96: 571-579.

    • Chapman KR, Barnes NC, Greening AP, Jones PW, Pedersen S. Single maintenance and reliever therapy (SMART) of asthma: a critical appraisal. Thorax 2010; 65:747-752.

    • Fritscher LG, Marras TK, Bradi AC, Fritscher CC, Balter MS, Chapman KR. Non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infection as a cause of difficult-to-control asthma: a case control study. Chest 2011 Jan; 139: 23-7.
  • Patient education

    Optimizing asthma treatment outcomes requires studies on patient education, compliance, and control assessment. Recognizing this, Dr. Chapman founded the Canadian Network for Respiratory Care, an organization that manages respiratory educator certification programs for Canada. He remains active on its executive.

    • Hanania NA, Wittman R, Kesten S, Chapman KR. Medical personnnel's knowledge of and ability to use inhaling devices. Chest 1994; 105: 111-116.

    • Chapman KR, Ernst P, Grenville A, Dewland P, Zimmerman S. Control of asthma in Canada: failure to achieve guideline targets. Can Respir J 2001; 35A-40A.

    • Chapman KR, Boulet LP, Rea RM, Franssen E. Sub-optimal asthma control: prevalence, detection and consequences in primary practice. Eur Respir J 2008; 31: 320-325.
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
    Dr. Chapman wrote Canada's first guidelines for the management of COPD and maintains a broad program of research in this area, addressing issues of diagnostic delay, epidemiology and non-invasive monitoring. He is a member of the CanCOLD consortium, a trans-Canadian program of study examining the natural history in a large population-based cohort of patients with COPD. He has addressed issues of gender bias in his work.

    • Chapman KR, Bowie D, Hodder R, Julien M, Kesten S, Newhouse M, Pare PD. Canadian Thoracic Society Concensus Statement on the assessment and management of COPD. Can Med Assoc J 1992; 147: 421-428.

    • Kesten S. Chapman KR. Physician perceptions and management of COPD. Chest 1993; 104: 254-258.

    • Chapman KR, Tashkin DP, Pye DJ. Gender bias in the diagnosis of COPD. Chest 2001; 119: 1691-1695.

    • Chapman KR, Mannino DM, Soriano JB, Vermeire PA, Buist AS, Thun MJ, Connell C, Jemal A, Lee TA, Miravitlles M, Aldington S, Beasley R. Epidemiology and costs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Eur Respir J 2006; 27: 188-207.
  • Alpha1 antitrypsin deficiency
    Dr. Chapman follows a large number of patients with alpha1 antitrypsin deficiency and is considered one of the world's experts in this comparatively rare lung disease. His work reflects both the Canadian perspective (from the Canadian registry) and his collaboration with international colleagues.

    • Chapman KR, Stockley RA, Dawkins C, Wilkes MM, Navickis RJ. Augmentation therapy for α1 antitrypsin deficiency: a meta-analysis. J COPD 2009; 6: 177-184.

For a list of Dr. Chapman's publications, please visit PubMed or Scopus.
Clinician Investigator, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute (TGHRI)

Director, Asthma & Airway Centre, University Health Network
Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto