He is a past Chair of the Scientific Committee of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) and past ERS President. He has served on the British Thoracic Society COPD guideline committee, was co chair of the ERS/ATS COPD guidelines committee and a past member of the GOLD executive committee. He has been an associate editor of the European Respiratory Journal and the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. His primary research interests are in pathological mechanisms of the lung and systemic effects of COPD, and he also has an interest in the mechanisms of the harmful effects of environmental pollutants. Professor MacNee has published over 260 peer reviewed papers, and edited several books on COPD.