Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Lung transplantation is the only durable, life-saving therapy for patients with end-stage lung disease (ESLD). While effective in treating ESLD, lung transplantation is limited by several factors including availability of donor organs, storage of donor organs prior to transplantation, and long-term survival of lung transplant patients. The current gold standard method of lung retrieval and storage is cold static preservation (CSP) which involves flushing the donor lungs with cold preservation solution and storage on ice for up to 6-8 hours prior to transplantation. Ex situ lung perfusion (ESLP) involves the use of machine ventilation and perfusion to preserve lungs in conditions mimicking their natural environment to allow for prolonged storage, evaluation of lung function, and recovery of lung function prior to lung transplantation. Continued investigation over the preceding decades has led to increased knowledge of ESLP, although many questions remain unanswered. The maximum duration of ESLP has yet to be established with prolonged ESLP runs possible with continuous improvements in protocols and techniques. Furthermore, the role of cell based therapies in ESLP is not fully understood. Our project seeks to address the gaps in knowledge by refining the current methods used for ESLP. We look to improve the current ESLP protocol by identifying optimal flow rates, to achieve longer durations of ELSP prior to transplantation through a transplantation model in pigs, and to develop cell based therapies for recovery of lung function and organ protection while on ESLP which will be achieved by developing protocols for incorporation of stem cells to be used in the ESLP circuit.