Research summary
Approximately six million Canadian children and adults suffer from debilitating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, with annual costs of some $20 billion. Dr. Grace Parraga’s research focuses on better understanding lung disease in asthma and COPD patients by developing novel, clinically accessible lung imaging tools and biomarkers of the pathologies that drive symptoms and disease worsening. Once developed and validated in Parraga’s research program, lung imaging biomarkers can be translated to use in patients to help predict and prevent lung attack, develop new treatments, and improve symptoms and patient quality of life, while reducing hospitalization rates and healthcare costs.