Howard M. Lazarus, MD, FCCP joined Avalyn Pharma as chief medical officer in 2023, prior to which he was chief medical officer of Altavant Sciences (acquired by Enzyvant). In this role, he was responsible for developing and implementing the clinical development plans for candidates addressing pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome. Earlier, he was a key member of the clinical development and medical affairs team at Boehringer Ingelheim where he worked on the nintedanib idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) program and at Gilead Sciences where he worked on their IPF and PAH portfolios. Prior to his work at Gilead, Dr. Lazarus practiced as a pulmonary and critical care physician at several health facilities, including Oregon Pulmonary Associates in Portland, OR. In that role, he diagnosed and treated patients with complex pulmonary vascular and interstitial diseases such as IPF and PAH.

Dr. Lazarus earned both a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry and a Doctor of Medicine from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. His residency in internal medicine was at Boston University Medical Center, and he completed a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of California, San Diego. He is a fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and a member of the American Thoracic and European Respiratory Societies.