Multimodal smart imaging of critical inflammatory processes in murine models of pulmonary fibrosis

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Model systems that exist today may not accurately reflect what is actually going on in human disease. One crucial problem is that we have been unable to visualise molecular events within animal models and humans until cutting edge technology has been launched. We wish to improve the treatment of a condition called idiopathic pulmonary (lung) fibrosis. This condition has a worse mortality than most cancers and there are currently no effective drug treatments. The fibrotic (scarring) process in pulmonary fibrosis is similar to that in other parts of the body such as liver and kidney. This research will apply cutting edge imaging to discover what key mechanisms are being switched on and off at different stages of the disease process. Extrapolating this to human disease is of utmost importance and will lead to new targeted therapies for inflammatory/scarring conditions of the lung and other organs.