Lutz Naehrlich, Pharmacoepidemiological Studies Director, recognized with prestigious ECFS Award

These words by Prof. Lutz Naehrlich perfectly capture the spirit of the ECFS Patient Registry and the legacy we celebrate today.

We are proud to congratulate Prof. Naehrlich, recipient of the ECFS Award, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to cystic fibrosis care, research, and to the lives of people with CF across Europe and beyond.

For decades, Prof. Naehrlich has brought together the dedication of a clinician, the rigour of a scientist, and the vision of a leader. His work has advanced CF diagnosis, strengthened clinical care, trained future generations, and helped shape one of the most powerful tools in our field: a united, high-quality patient registry.

Under his leadership and continued commitment, the ECFSPR has grown into the world’s largest CF registry, bringing together data from more than 57,000 consenting people with CF across 46 countries.

But this achievement is not only about scale. It is about trust, visibility, equity and countries working together so that every person with CF can be seen, counted, and represented.

By unifying centres, clinicians, researchers, national registries, and people with CF under one shared infrastructure, the ECFSPR has shown what becomes possible when collaboration is stronger than competition. Together, we can generate evidence, improve care, monitor treatment safety and effectiveness, and give a voice to people with CF across borders.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, this network provided essential early evidence for the CF community. Today, through the ECFSPR Partnership Project, its reach is expanding to Latin America, North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, helping close diagnostic gaps and extending the benefits of structured data collection to more communities worldwide.

This is the power of a registry built not around individual achievement, but around shared purpose.

On behalf of the entire ECFSPR team and the ECFS community, we express our deepest gratitude to Prof. Lutz Naehrlich for his vision, leadership, generosity, and unwavering commitment to people with CF.

Congratulations, Lutz, on this truly well-deserved recognition.