UBC Faculty of Medicine researchers Dr. Christopher Carlsten and Dr. Janice Leung have received new federal funding to study and address major lung health challenges facing people across Canada.
The Honourable Mark Holland, Canada’s Minister of Health, recently announced a total of nearly $4 million for the two UBC-led research teams through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Team Grants in Lung Health.
The team led by Dr. Carlsten will examine the long-term health effects of wildfire smoke, while Dr. Leung’s team will explore the effects of vaping on youth and adults.
“As wildfires become more common in Canada due to climate change, it is more important than ever to address the health effects caused by exposure to wildfire smoke,” said Minister Holland. “These research teams’ initiatives will protect people’s lungs against poor air quality and other threats, including cancer, vaping, asthma, and inflammation.”
In total, the federal government announced $19.3 million for nine research teams across Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Cancer Society, the Canadian Lung Association, the Cancer Research Society, GSK, Heart & Stroke, and Mitacs, and in collaboration with the Canadian Thoracic Society, Children’s Healthcare Canada, Cystic Fibrosis Canada, and Health Canada.
Understanding the long-term effects of wildlife smoke
The team led by Dr. Christopher Carlsten will focus on the long-term health effects of wildfire smoke and how exposure to wildfire smoke affects people differently based on age, sex, genetics, exercise habits, and socioeconomic status.
Wildfire smoke is now the leading contributor to health-damaging air pollution in Canada, and the impacts of climate change are expected to further increase the frequency and intensity of wildfires, negatively impacting air quality and worsening respiratory health outcomes.
The project, Lungs on Fire: Wildfire Smoke, Incident Diseases, Susceptible Populations, and Community Values in Canada, will address the urgent need for research into the wildfire smoke with an aim to optimize clinical and public health guidance, while advancing equitable health interventions to reduce harm.
“We are thrilled to have support for our work on understanding the long-term effects of wildfire smoke,” said Dr. Carlsten. “Unfortunately, these particulate-rich exposures are anticipated to increase and we need knowledge about how our communities will be affected in order to best target interventions to protect them.”
Bringing together a multidisciplinary team of experts in respiratory research, care, epidemiology, Indigenous lung health and people with lived experience, the project will address a broad range of intersecting factors affecting lung health and use rigorous, data-driven approaches to protect respiratory health in the face of a changing climate. Their findings will guide public health advice during wildfire emergencies to help keep people safe.
The project is co-led by UBC researchers Drs. Nick Bansback, Michael Brauer, Emily Brigham, Pat Camp, Sarah Henderson and Renelle Myers, alongside Dr. Stephanie Cleland of Simon Fraser University and Dr. Neeloffer Mookerjhee of the University of Manitoba.
Measuring the impact of vaping on Canadians
The team led by Dr. Janice Leung will measure the impact vaping has on youths and adults across Canada using advanced breathing, imaging, exercise, and airway sampling techniques.
In recent years, vaping has emerged as a pervasive habit across Canada and there is an urgent need to better understand its long-term impact on lung health. The project, The Canadian Lung Outcomes in Users of Vaping Devices (CLOUD) Study, will provide one of the most detailed lung evaluations of people who vape to help Canadians make informed decisions.
“Many Canadians are asking questions about what vaping does to their lungs,” said Dr. Leung. “We are honoured to have the opportunity to help them answer these questions so that they can keep their lungs healthy.”
The cross-disciplinary team of physicians, nurses, scientists, Indigenous representatives, people with lived experience, and youth and public health advocates seeks to inform Canadians on how vaping may affect lung health from cells to society.
The project is co-led by UBC researchers Don Sin and Jonathan Rayment.