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The East Midlands interstitial lung disease (ILD) Research Alliance (EMIRA) is a brand new group of people aiming to improve the lives of people affected by ILD.
Click here to hear more about EMIRA members and activities.
Who are EMIRA?
Local healthcare professionals, scientists, patients, charity representative and research funders met for the first meeting on the 7th July 2023 at the University of Leicester.
What does EMIRA aim to do?
The aim of the meeting was to share knowledge and work together. EMIRA would like to answer the big questions in the fight against pulmonary fibrosis (PF), and help to move forward in the ultimate aim of stopping ILD.
What was discussed?
The EMIRA meeting showcased a new project led by Dr Amanda Goodwin (University of Nottingham) and Dr Harvinder Virk (University of Leicester). They want to learn more about why some people with PF have sudden worsening of their symptoms called acute exacerbations. The project looks at healthcare information when someone has had a hospital stay because of an acute exacerbation. This will help to better understand why acute exacerbations happen and how is best to treat them.
Bill, who is an IPF patient, attended the event and we are grateful that he shared his thoughts with us:
I was happy to attend this meeting in the knowledge that I would hopefully understand what ILD research programs are underway and/or planned. I left the meeting surprised and impressed by the wide spectrum of projects, their objectives and in many cases, the progress already made.
What next?
This is an example of how different experts, such as researchers, healthcare professionals and patients, can work together to help achieve our goal to create a brighter future for those affected by the disease and ultimately stop PF. This first EMIRA meeting was the start of a brand new alliance that has big plans to create change, now and in the future.
To find out more about EMIRA, please visit the following link. https://eastmidlandsild.com/
If you are a healthcare professional and interested in contributing to research on acute exacerbations of ILD, please contact amanda.goodwin@nottingham.ac.uk