RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 ERS International Congress, 2020: highlights from the Epidemiology and Environment Assembly JF ERJ Open Research JO erjor FD European Respiratory Society SP 00849-2020 DO 10.1183/23120541.00849-2020 A1 Diana A van der Plaat A1 Aino K Rantala A1 Sheikh M Alif A1 Dilek Karadoğan A1 Yutong Cai A1 Orianne Dumas YR 2021 UL http://openres.ersjournals.com/content/early/2021/01/21/23120541.00849-2020.abstract AB In this article, early career members of the Epidemiology and Environment Assembly of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) summarise a selection of five sessions from the Society's 2020 virtual congress. The topics covered include risk factors for chronic respiratory diseases over the life course, from early life origins to occupational exposures in adulthood, and the interplay between these risk factors, including gene-environment interactions. Novel results were also presented on smoking prevention and potential risks of vaping. Finally, the challenges and opportunities for epidemiological and environmental research brought by the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic were a major topic of this year's congress.FootnotesThis manuscript has recently been accepted for publication in the ERJ Open Research. It is published here in its accepted form prior to copyediting and typesetting by our production team. After these production processes are complete and the authors have approved the resulting proofs, the article will move to the latest issue of the ERJOR online. Please open or download the PDF to view this article.Conflict of interest: Dr. van der Plaat has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Dr. Rantala has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Dr. Alif has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Dr. Karadoğan has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Dr. Cai has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Dr. Dumas has nothing to disclose.