Research Summary
Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (better known as COPD) affect millions of Canadians. Current diagnostic tools are more than a century old and cannot detect disease changes in small airways and vessels. Dr. Grace Parraga, Canada Research Chair in Lung Imaging to Transform Outcomes, has developed advanced lung imaging methods that reveal hidden airway inflammation, blockage and structural remodelling to provide insights that standard clinical tests cannot. Her research has shown that treatment can reverse airway and vessel remodelling in asthma—a finding that challenges long-held assumptions.
Now, she and her research team are applying these tools to determine when and how such remodelling occurs, whether it can be reversed, and when treatment goals are fully achieved. This work will guide more precise, individualized care, improve patient outcomes, and reduce the economic and social burden of chronic lung disease.