Infection Control and Prevention Center, Gunma University Hospital, Maebashi, Japan;Dr. Yuichiro Shindo，MD, PhD is an Associate Professor and Head of the Infection Control and Prevention Center at Gunma University Hospital, Japan. Prior to his current appointment in July 2026, he served as a faculty member in the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Nagoya University Hospital. He also conducted research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, USA, from 2013 to 2016. His clinical and research interests include respiratory tract infections, particularly community-acquired pneumonia, antimicrobial resistance, and the optimization of antibiotic therapy, as well as nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease and bronchiectasis. He has conducted numerous clinical studies on pneumonia, focusing on risk factors for drug-resistant pathogens, treatment strategies, and clinical outcomes. Dr. Shindo has contributed to the development of clinical practice guidelines for pneumonia in Japan, including the Japanese Respiratory Society's 2024 guidelines. He also serves on the editorial boards of several scientific journals.

Attikon University Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece;Dr Paraskevi C. Fragkou, MD, MRCP (UK), MSc, PhD, is an Internal Medicine specialist and infectious diseases researcher. She is Chair of the ESCMID Study Group for Respiratory Viruses (ESGREV), Research Associate at the Center for Public Health Research and Education of the Academy of Athens, and Faculty Member at the University of Crete School of Medicine. Dr Fragkou is Co-Founder and Clinical Director of Aigli Medical Clinic, where she leads the Internal Medicine Department. Her work focuses on respiratory viral infections, secondary bacterial infection, diagnostics, clinical outcomes, and critical care. She has authored or co-authored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications, with over 3,900 citations (h-index 32; i10-index 48). She has authored book chapters, serves as an Associate Editor for peer-reviewed journals, and acts as a peer reviewer for high-impact international journals. She also contributes to international multicentre studies and evidence-based international guideline development.

Department of Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain;Prof. Fernando Martínez Sagasti, MD, PhD, graduated in Medicine from the University of Zaragoza, Spain, in 1991. Following the Spanish national residency examination (MIR), he completed his specialist training in Intensive Care Medicine at Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain (1992–1996). He received his PhD from the University of Zaragoza in 2002. He serves as Associate Professor of Medicine at the Complutense University of Madrid, and became Head of the Department of Intensive Care Medicine at Hospital Clínico San Carlos in August 2024. He was President of SOMIAMA (2014–2016), member of SEMICYUC and ESICM, and EDIC examiner since 2015. His research focuses on inflammation, infections, sepsis, septic shock, and antimicrobial pharmacology in critically ill patients. His work also covers rapid molecular diagnostics, respiratory failure and critical care biomarkers. He has taken part in clinical trials of pneumonia and sepsis, and works within the Spanish PROA antimicrobial stewardship programme.