The Philadelphia Business Journal Healthcare awards acknowledged Temple Lung Center Director and chairman of the department of thoracic medicine and surgery at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple university Dr. Gerard Criner as a Doctor of distinction.

What Makes Him a Doctor of Distinction:

Dr. Gerard J. Criner is an internationally recognized researcher who, as principal investigator and project leader of several multimillion-dollar NIH grants, has overseen numerous advances in pulmonary medicine and critical care research during the last two decades.  He is recognized worldwide as an expert on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the management of intensive-care unit patients.  As director of the newly expanded Temple Lung Center, he leads one of the largest pulmonary surgery centers in the nation.  In recent years, he has led Temple's participation in numerous clinical research trials testing novel methods to improve breathing and activity levels and quality of life for patients with emphysema.  Criner is also founder and chairman of a Temple spin-off copay, HGE Health Care Solutions, that has created a digital health application for COPD that allows patients to report daily symptoms directly to their health care team and receive rapid feedback and treatment recommendations.