Dear Readers,

It has been my distinct pleasure to listen to your concerns and answer your questions here on LungHealthOnline.com over the past several years. Now I hope you will join me in welcoming two new friends to the "Ask Dr. Tom" column. Beginning today, Timothy R. Myers, RRT-NPS, and Bruce K. Rubin, MD, will be taking your questions as well, bringing their wealth of experience in pediatric respiratory care to bear on topics that most concern children and families with asthma and other respiratory conditions.

As a registered respiratory therapist and neonatal-pediatric specialist, "RRT Tim" is the perfect person to address the everyday challenges families face. Currently serving as director of the Asthma & Diagnostics Centers and pediatric respiratory care at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland, OH, RRT Tim has published extensively on pediatric respiratory care in major medical journals. He is also an adjunct assistant professor of pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and is currently serving as president-elect of the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC), which sponsors the LungHealthOnline.com site.

"Dr. Bruce" is a professor and vice chair of pediatric pulmonology at Wake Forrest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC, where he specializes in asthma, cystic fibrosis, airway disease, mucus clearance, and pediatric pulmonology. He is board certified in pediatric pulmonology, and during his nearly 30 years in the medical profession he has led scientific studies into everything from aerosol therapy to airway infection and inflammation. Dr. Bruce has published his work in leading medical journals as well, and is also an active volunteer with the AARC.

Please join me in welcoming "RRT Tim" and "Dr. Bruce" to "Ask Dr. Tom." We are all proud to be associated with the LungHealthOnline.com Web site, and we will continue to do our very best to provide you with the information you and your families need to live well with lung disease.

Sincerely,

Tom Petty, MD