Grant: Operating Grant

The devastating impact of cigarette smoking on human health is well known. Despite this, over 1.1 billion people continue to smoke, representing one-sixth of the world's population. About half of these smokers will develop severe smoking-related illnesses, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), stroke, and cancer. The proposed research focuses on mechanisms that contribute to the pathogenesis of COPD; a chronic inflammatory lung disease. We will investigate mechanisms by which cigarette smoke elicits lung inflammation and how these inflammatory processes affect viral infections. Ultimately, we hope that this knowledge will allow us to design novel therapies to prevent and control this disease.