Research programs and partnerships

Our research projects and partnerships align with Australia’s National Strategic Action Plan for Lung Conditions and underpinned by priorities outlined within LFA’s strategic policy documents These include:

• The National Lung Cancer Blueprint 2022-2025: Accelerating Lung Cancer Reform in Australia
• Transforming the agenda for COPD: A path towards prevention and lifelong lung health  
• National Pulmonary Rehabilitation Strategy Framework 2023-2026
• National Silicosis Prevention Strategy 

As an organisation, we are guided by the experiences of people living with lung disease and lung cancer. We believe their input is crucial for our research and we will always advocate for their meaningful involvement. 

Our focus areas

We have a broad research focus supporting programs that are changing the landscape in prevention (protecting your lungs), COPD, pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), pulmonary fibrosis, respiratory infections and more. Some of our key focus areas are outlined below: 

• Bronchiectasis: This lung condition used to often be overlooked, but has seen major improvements since. This progress is due to international registries (lists of patients), strong advocacy and a growing amount of research.
• Occupational lung diseases: These lung diseases affect workers in many different industries. They remain a significant concern, but the good news is they are entirely preventable. We focus on improving how we prevent these diseases, detect them early and manage them. We achieve this by working closely with researchers and communities affected by these conditions.
• Interstitial lung disease (ILD): Australia is a global leader in ILD research. Lung Foundation Australia actively supports this work by helping with registries, clinical trials and national research programs.
• Lung cancer: Ongoing investment in cancer research has led to dramatic improvements in survival rates for some cancers. However, lung cancer still has one of the lowest survival rates. Between 2016 and 2020, just over a quarter of all lung cancer patients survived beyond five years. This highlights the urgent need for continued funding for lung cancer research to improve these outcomes.

We’re committed to supporting research that delivers real health benefits and genuinely helps people. We strive to improve how we prevent, diagnose, treat, and care for people living with lung disease and lung cancer.