Confidences de Salon: Andy Bush

Andy Bush is the ERS Publications Chair. He is Professor of Paediatrics and Head of Section at Imperial College London and Consultant Paediatric Chest Physician at the Royal Brompton Harefield NHS Foundation Trust. His research focuses on invasive and noninvasive measurement of airway inflammation in children.

Did you always dream of being involved in medical research/healthcare?

I actually got a place at Cambridge University to study basic science (natural sciences). But when I thought about it, I wanted a people focused job as well as science and medicine was the obvious choice.

What is the best advice you had when you were starting your professional career?

Study medicine! A medical degree opens up so many career paths, and that has been the case for me. The combination of clinical practice, research and teaching is just so fantastic.

What advice would you give someone at the beginning of their professional career?

Never be in a hurry, there is plenty of time to be a grown-up. And also, there are only three reasons for doing anything: 1) what you have to do, like get dressed in the morning; 2) what you ought to do, like being kind to old people; and 3) what you like doing. If what you are thinking of doing doesn’t fit into one of those categories, why are you thinking of doing it?

What has been the greatest change to make a difference in your field in your lifetime?

Imaging: neuroimaging used to be carotid angiography and air encephalography, we now have HRCT and MRI and so much more; also the development of systems biology and -omics technologies.

What do you foresee being the next great thing and what do you foresee as being the biggest challenge in your field in the next 10 years?

Tackling child obesity and poverty, both of which are an international scandal in which too many acquiesce.

What is your favourite scientific breakthrough from any field?

The Hubble telescope: a stern corrective to delusions of grandeur.

How do you see the future of the ERS?

Very bright! Teaching and raising standards will be increasingly important, but also advocacy and bending the ears of reluctant politicians.

When are or were you happiest?

When all my great children, their wonderful partners, and the fabulous grandchildren are together with me and Sue under the same roof.

What do you dislike most?

When I am jet-lagged the sound of the alarm clock early in the morning.

Who has been your greatest inspiration?

Professionally, I owe so much to Professor David Denison, who taught me physiology, and Elliot Shinebourne who inveigled me into paediatrics. But I have been blessed with so many stellar teachers. Personally, it is my family again.

Whom would you most like to thank?

All generations of my family, especially my parents who brought me up, and my wife who took over the baton.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Persuading Sue to marry me and stay with me for over 40 years.

Who are your favourite authors?

PG Wodehouse, Jane Austen, George Orwell and Frank Richards (Billy Bunter).

Who are your heroes in real life?

Judge Albie Sachs, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Martina Navratilova.

Where would you most like to live?

Where I am, in north-west London, a fantastic multicultural and diverse area!

What is or was your greatest journey?

Going to Kenya as a medical student for an elective, because of what I found and learned there.

What qualities do you appreciate most in your friends?

Infectious enjoyment of life; thinking in weird ways.

What qualities do you appreciate most in your colleagues?

The same qualities as my friends, which they are; also good communication skills and sound judgement. I have the greatest bunch of colleagues imaginable. The Brompton is my second family.

What is your personal motto?

Never mind the process, what’s the outcome.

What do you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses?

Strengths (or maybe a weakness): a work junkie. Weaknesses: how many pages do you have?