Grant: Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung disease most commonly caused by cigarette smoking that represents a staggering burden on patients, their caregivers, the economy and the Canadian health-care system. Although it is a leading cause of death and disability in Canada and around the world, there are no known treatments that can prevent disease progression, hospitalization or death. An important reason for this gap in treatment is the fact that with existing clinical measurement tools, the disease is diagnosed late in the disease course after permanent damage has already occurred. However, if the disease can be identified and measured in the earliest stages, interventions or treatments may be able to stop the disease from progressing. We propose that computed tomography imaging can be used to identify and measure disease changes in smokers before they develop COPD. In our studies, we will develop innovative image analysis approaches in smokers at risk of COPD to identify the earliest changes in the lung structure. We will then monitor these smokers over time, and determine whether our imaging measurements can predict which individuals have accelerated lung function decline and develop COPD. Our proposed studies will have high impact on lung research by being the first to develop innovative tools to identify early changes in the lung before permanent disease changes have occurred. The new lung imaging measurements we discover in our studies can then be translated to a clinical setting in order to guide patient management decisions, and ultimately improve health outcomes for individuals at risk of COPD in Canada, and worldwide.