Dr Gareth Walters MD FRCP FHEA

Dr Gareth Walters

Department of Applied Health Sciences
Honorary Associate Professor in Occupational Respiratory Medicine

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0) 121 424 1940
Email
g.i.walters@bham.ac.uk
Twitter
Address
Birmingham Regional NHS Occupational Lung Disease Service
Birmingham Chest Clinic
151 Great Charles Street
Birmingham
B3 3HX
UK

Gareth is an NHS consultant in occupational respiratory medicine and interstitial lung diseases in Birmingham, and leads the supra-regional NHS occupational lung disease service.  Gareth's research broadly concerns the aetiology and identification of occupational airways diseases and pneumoconiosis.

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Qualifications

  • MD, Doctor of Medicine, University 麻豆精选, 2015
  • Diploma in Occupational Medicine, Royal College of Physicians, 2014
  • MMedEd, Masters in Medical Education, University of Warwick, 2010
  • MRCP(UK) Royal College of Physicians, 2005
  • MB ChB, Medicine, University of Bristol, 2001
  • BSc (Hons) in Physiology, University of Bristol, 1998

Biography

Gareth has led the supra-regional Birmingham NHS occupational lung disease service since his appointment as a consultant in respiratory medicine at Heartlands Hospital and Birmingham Chest Clinic in 2015. He undertook postgraduate medical and higher specialist training in South Wales and the West Midlands before completing an MD at the Institute of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at University 麻豆精选 with Professors Jon Ayres and Sherwood Burge, looking at barriers to the diagnosis of work-related asthma in primary care. 

Gareth also led a regional interstitial lung disease (ILD) service in Birmingham until 2020, and still regularly chairs the ILD diagnostic MDT meetings. The NHS occupational lung disease service has had the award status of a World Allergy Organisation Centre of Excellence extended until 2028. 

Gareth is currently a NIHR Research Scholar at UHB NHS Foundation Trust and undertaking research broadly in the areas of aetiology, diagnosis and outcome of exposure-related airway and interstitial lung diseases.  

Teaching

Research interests

  • Aetiology and diagnosis of occupational and work-exacerbated asthma, and the role of peak expiratory flow measurements
  • Aetiology of sarcoidosis, and the role of respirable crystalline silica
  • Predictors of lung function decline in fibrotic lung diseases, including hypersensitivity pneumonitis, asbestosis and combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema

Current projects

  • HANDS-ON ASTHMA (Health and Social Factors and their influence on asthma symptoms at work): A cross-sectional study to evaluate the influence of bio-psycho-social and cultural factors on the presence of work-exacerbated asthma (Funded by Colt Foundation; NIHR portfolio)

  • SANDSTONE study (Sarcoidosis and Silica: A Study of Occupational Exposures): A case-control study of the occupational exposures associated with a diagnosis of pulmonary sarcoidosis

  • PURSUIT study (Development of a behaviour change intervention to support provider identification of work-related asthma in primary care): development of a behaviour change intervention aimed at reducing delay and increasing identification of WRA in primary care populations (NIHR RfPB 2025)

  • The TEAMS study (Developing an intervention to tackle Ethnicity-based Disparities in Asthma Management in British South Asians):  To determine the facilitators and barriers to uptake of asthma management amongst British South Asian patients and healthcare professionals (NIHR RfPB 2024)

Other activities

  • 2022- present. NIHR research scholar
  • 2021-present. Member, Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC)
  • 2019-22. British Thoracic Society (BTS) Clinical Statement Group on occupational asthma
  • 2017-20. BOHRF Occupational asthma systematic evidence review group
  • 2015-18. BTS Occupational and Environmental Lung Disease Specialist Advisory Group
  • 2011-present. Group of Occupational Respiratory Disease Specialists (GORDS) UK

Publications

Recent peer-reviewed articles

  • Doyen V Thirionet R, Migueres N et al; European network for the PHenotyping of OCcupational ASthma (E-PHOCAS). Phenotypic Characteristics of Occupational Asthma Caused by Persulfate Salts in Hairdressers: A Multicenter Cohort Study. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2025:S2213-2198(25)00263-6.
  • Mackiewicz P, Hussein H, Mansur AH, et al. 'Stuck in catch-22': a qualitative study of perceived work ability and decision-making about employment in severe asthma. BMC Pulm Med. 2025;25(1):82.
  • Walters GI, Foley H, Huntley CC, et al. Could a behaviour change intervention be used to address under-recognition of work-related asthma in primary care? A systematic review. BJGP Open. 2024: BJGPOpen.2024.0094.
  • Walters GI, Reilly C, Le Moual N, et al. Asthma control in severe asthma and occupational exposures to inhalable asthmagens. BMJ Open Respir Res. 2024;11(1):e001943.
  • Barber C, Cullinan P, Feary J et al. British Thoracic Society Clinical Statement on occupational asthma. Thorax 2022;77(5):433-42.

Book chapters

  • Croft, E., Ahmed, R., Walters, G. and Jones, A. Chapter 6: Occupational Infections. In: Eds. Sadhra, S., Bray, A. and Boorman, S (2022). Oxford Handbook of Occupational Health, 3rd Edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Walters, G., Fishwick, D. and Wynn, P. Chapter 7: Respiratory and cardiovascular disorders. In: Eds. Sadhra, S., Bray, A. and Boorman, S (2022). Oxford Handbook of Occupational Health, 3rd Edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Merget, R., van Kampen, V., Gautrin, .D, Walters, G. I. and Malo, J-L. Metals. In: Eds: Tarlo, S. M., Vandenplas, O., Bernstein, D. I. and Malo, J-L (2021). Asthma in the Workplace, 5th Edition, Milton Park, Oxon: Taylor and Francis.. Work-exacerbated asthma. In: Eds. Feary, J., Soujahleto, H. and Cullinan, P (2020).  European Respiratory Society Monograph: Occupational and Environmental Lung Disease. Sheffield, ERS Publications.