Australian PhD student Archana Gaikwad has published a ground-breaking study that has brought major understanding to pathogenesis, the first step towards new treatments to stop the progression of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF).
The study, funded by Lung Foundation Australia, is the first of its kind showing the process in which cells lining the arteries in the lungs can contribute to scarring and impact breathing, a discovery that may help target lung fibrosis in a way that hasn’t been done before.
Archana is a PhD student with the Respiratory Translational Research Group at the University of Tasmania. She strongly believes that this discovery is important in improving the outcome for those diagnosed with the rare disease.
“All researchers want is to help patients live a healthy life, so this is a very exciting outcome,” Mrs Gaikwad said.
“We hope this knowledge will be used to develop treatment options to stop further scarring in the lungs and prolong patients’ lives.”
Chief investigator on the study and respiratory research expert Dr Sukhwinder Sohal says this discovery is a paradigm shift when it comes to how IPF is viewed.
“This research totally changes what we understand about IPF and is a ground-breaking discovery that will not only change the way we help IPF patients but can also potentially impact patients with Pulmonary Hypertension, a condition quite common in patients with IPF,” Dr Sohal said.
“Only by understanding what is happening, new treatments may emerge.”
Archana’s work has been published in the European Respiratory Journal Open Research, and such is the interest in her findings that she has been selected to present them for both the European Respiratory Society and the American Thoracic Society.
For this work, Archana was the only Australian in IPF research work to receive an International Scholarship from the American Thoracic Society.
Archana’s study was possible after being awarded the Lung Foundation Australia David Wilson PhD Scholarship in IPF in 2019 which was matched by the University of Tasmania.
“External funding is so important for our research – the study would have been a long and exhausting process without the funding from Lung Foundation Australia,” Archana said.
“Further funding will mean I can continue to contribute to IPF research and be able to bring a treatment option to clinical trials.”
Despite accounting for 9% of the total disease burden in Australia, lung disease research including lung cancer receives only 2% government funding.
Lung Foundation CEO Mark Brooke says research is desperately needed for the 1 in 3 Australians impacted by lung conditions.
“The disease burden, mortality rate, and social and economic costs of lung disease is evidence of how important research investment is for the health of Australians,” Mr Brooke said.
“Archana’s work has proven just how game-changing research can be when given the proper funding.”
Archana is a Fellow of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centre of Research Excellence (CRE) in Pulmonary Fibrosis CREATE program, led by A/Prof Tamera Corte.
“Every small step to understanding the reason behind pulmonary fibrosis, is a step closer towards finding an effective cure,” A/Prof Corte says.
The study can be found here.
