Arzu Ari honored by International Council for Respiratory Care

Arzu Ari, professor in the Department of Respiratory Care and associate dean for research in the College of Health Professions at Texas State University, has been named the recipient of the Hector Leon Garza, MD, Achievement Award for Excellence in International Respiratory Care for 2022 by the International Council for Respiratory Care.

The Garza award recognizes respiratory therapists, physicians, and other healthcare providers who have had a profound impact on the development of international respiratory care in 35 represented countries.

Ari was honored during an award ceremony on Nov. 9 in New Orleans to open the International Respiratory Care Convention by the American Association for Respiratory Care, and again on Nov. 11 by the International Council for Respiratory Care, to recognize her international efforts and accomplishments in research, education and service in respiratory care.

Ari’s primary area of research is aerosol medicine and workforce development in healthcare. Her research interest has manifested in 85 peer-reviewed articles, 84 conference proceedings, 17 book chapters, two clinical practice guidelines and two books over the past 17 years. She has received 32 awards for her accomplishments in research, education and service. She is the only researcher whose work received the Monaghan/Trudell Fellowship for Aerosol Technique Development from the American Respiratory Care Foundation three times. She also received the Mitchell A. Baran Achievement Award for Clinical Excellence in Aerosol and Airway Clearance Therapies in 2018.

Ari has been proactive in promoting the respiratory care profession through her research, scholarship, and educational programs. She has given 318 keynote/invited presentations at national and international conferences. She also prepared 34 education programs for clinicians worldwide. Her contributions have helped advance the safe and effective practice of respiratory care in her home country and at the international level.

As a strong advocate for the development of the respiratory care profession, Ari has served as the governor of Turkey at the International Council for Respiratory Care for 25 years and promotes respiratory care professionals around the world. She has also served on numerous committees of the American Association for Respiratory Care, the American College of Chest Physicians, the American Respiratory Care Foundation, the International Society for Aerosols in Medicine, the COPD Foundation and the Turkish Respiratory Society. She has served as chair of the International Education Recognition System since 2020.

The American Respiratory Care Foundation is dedicated to promoting respiratory health through the support of research, education and patient-focused philanthropic activities in respiratory care.

Established in 2005, the Hector Leon Garza, MD, Achievement Award for Excellence in International Respiratory Care was both named for, and first bestowed to, Garza for his groundbreaking work in bringing the respiratory care profession to his native Mexico.

 

About Texas State University

Founded in 1899, Texas State University is among the largest universities in Texas with an enrollment of 38,376 students on campuses in San Marcos and Round Rock. Texas State’s 221,000-plus alumni are a powerful force in serving the economic workforce needs of Texas and throughout the world.