Tanja Effing has 20 years of experience in clinical research and a clearly demonstrated interest and track record in research relating to self-management in patients with COPD.

Since 2009 she has been working as a respiratory researcher at the Department of Respiratory Medicine in the Repatriation General Hospital, Adelaide, Australia. She also has an academic status at Flinders University in Adelaide. During the last five years she has extended her expertise in COPD self-management and strongly related fields e.g. needs of carers, anxiety and depression in COPD, adherence to interventions, and pulmonary rehabilitation. She is currently supervising several PhD and postgraduate students.

She is one of the Directors of Bridge Assistive (founded in 2022), a not-for-profit organisation that aims to increase the use of high-tech (second-hand) Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices in developing countries (www.bridgeassistive.com). She is driving the development of sustainable AAC projects in developing countries and putting assessments in place to evaluate these projects.