At the next Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine grand rounds, on Friday 15-May-2026, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., Metin Akgün, MD, will present a lecture titled “Denim Sandblasting and Silicosis: Lessons from a Preventable Global Epidemic”.

Prof. Dr. Metin Akgün is Professor of Pulmonary Diseases, Dean of the School of Medicine, and Chair of the Department of Pulmonary Diseases at Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University, Türkiye. He previously served as Full Professor at Atatürk University and has held academic leadership roles including Vice Dean.

He was among the first to report and systematically study the silicosis epidemic among denim sandblasting workers in Türkiye, beginning with case reports in 2005 and a landmark epidemic description in the European Respiratory Journal in 2008. His longitudinal follow-up studies demonstrated progressive disease and premature mortality despite cessation of exposure. His recent letter in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine reflects on the recurring global nature of silicosis outbreaks and the need for sustained international prevention efforts.

He has served in numerous national and international leadership roles, including National Delegate of Türkiye to the European Respiratory Society, program committee member of the ATS Environmental, Occupational, and Population Health Assembly, and long-standing faculty member of the ATS–Turkish Thoracic Society MECOR program. He is currently Chief Editor of Thoracic Research and Practice and remains actively engaged in global collaborations addressing occupational and environmental lung diseases. In addition to his clinical and public health work, he is also interested in philosophy and artificial intelligence.