Professor Rabe has been active in various fields of respiratory medicine worldwide. His current scientific interests are related to large clinical trials in COPD and asthma, the mechanisms of airway inflammation and early determinants of lung health. Professor Rabe has been involved in many major COPD trials, including the pivotal studies on phosphodiesterase inhibitors and biologics for asthma and COPD. Professor Rabe is Past President of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) and currently serves as Vice Chairman of the German Center for Lung Research. He is the PastPresident of the German Chest Society and a member of the British Pharmacological Society and the American Thoracic Society. He has served on committees for both the Global Initiative for Asthma and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease. Professor Rabe serves on the editorial board of several Journals including the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, and is past Chief Editor of the European Respiratory Journal. He received several distinctions including the Balzan award in 2019