Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia
A 3D-printed human airway model for studying respiratory mucosal immune responses
Exposure to allergens and air pollutants in the air we breathe can lead to “lung attacks” in individuals with lung diseases, but it is unclear how this happens and what we can do to stop it. Dr Hirota’s research group studies how exposure to inhaled allergens and air pollution causes irritation and swelling (inflammation) in the lungs, leading to difficulty breathing, and how this causes lung attacks.
They will use their patented 3-dimensional printing technology to create an experimental model of a human airway that can be used to study lung inflammation and the development of new drugs to control lung attacks. By reducing lung inflammation such drugs may reduce the devastating burden of lung attacks on Canadians.
