Professor Dirk Schramm, MD, is Chief Physician of the Department of Pediatrics at St. Nikolaus Children’s Hospital (AKH Viersen), Germany, and affiliated with the Kinderhaus Viersen. He is an Associate Professor for Pediatric Airway Endoscopy and a Consultant Pediatric Pulmonologist and Allergologist with a strong focus on complex airway disease and interventional bronchoscopy.

Professor Schramm trained in anesthesiology, pediatric intensive care, and pediatrics before specializing in pediatric pulmonology. Prior to his current appointment, he served for many years as Senior Consultant at the University Children’s Hospital Düsseldorf, where he led the clinical programs in Pediatric Pulmonology, Allergology, and Dysphagia and developed an internationally recognized program in interventional pediatric bronchoscopy. He previously headed the Department of Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergology and the Interdisciplinary Cystic Fibrosis Center at the University Children’s Hospital Erlangen. His clinical and academic work focuses on interventional techniques in the pediatric airway, including bronchoscopic foreign body removal, cryotherapy in the pediatric airway, and advanced endoscopic diagnostics and therapies for children with complex respiratory disorders. He is also involved in research on aspiration-related lung disease, bronchoalveolar lavage proteomics, and swallowing disorders in neurologically impaired children.

Professor Schramm is the founder and course director of the Advanced Pediatric Interventional Pulmonology (APIP) Hands-On Course, an international training program dedicated to advanced bronchoscopic techniques in children. Through this initiative, he has contributed significantly to the development of structured training in pediatric interventional pulmonology and to building an international network of specialists in pediatric airway medicine. He holds several leadership positions in international respiratory societies, including serving as Head of the Pediatric Section of the European Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology (pedEABIP) and as Secretary of the Pediatric Assembly of the European Respiratory Society (ERS). He is also a member of the ERS Long Range Planning Committee and an active member of multiple national and international pediatric and respiratory societies.

Professor Schramm’s academic work includes contributions to international studies on pediatric airway interventions and the development of guidelines for pediatric airway endoscopy. His professional mission is to advance interventional pediatric pulmonology, improve diagnostic and therapeutic options for children with complex airway diseases, and strengthen international collaboration in pediatric respiratory medicine.