September 03, 2020
The first slide of the webinar, presented by researcher Dr Richard AllenIntroduction from Steve Jones, Chair of Trustees
"Welcome everybody to the first APF webinar on new directions in pulmonary fibrosis research with APF funded researcher Dr Richard Allen, hosted by Steve Jones
Over the last 10 years there has been a massive growth in research on pulmonary fibrosis – especially on Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis or IPF. We have learnt a lot about what causes of lung scarring or fibrosis, which has made possible the development of antifibrotic drugs, which slow down the disease and extend life.
There are currently have two antifibrotic treatments but there are more in the pipeline. Covid-19 has focused attention even more on lung fibrosis and recent advances in related fields like genetics and artificial intelligence are enabling a far deeper understanding of the causes of the different types of pulmonary fibrosis, which will lead new treatments.
All in all, it’s a very exciting and hopeful time to be involved in pulmonary fibrosis research. Our aim in this series of webinars is to inform patients and their families about the latest advances in research and to discuss what these may mean for the pulmonary fibrosis community. Our speakers will do their best to present their ideas in plain language and without using too many technical words or jargon.
Today, I am delighted to welcome, as our first speaker, Dr Richard Allen of the University of Leicester, who is going to talk to us about his research on the genetics of IPF.
Richard has kindly agreed to write a brief note afterwards summarising his answers to all the questions, which will be on the APF website in a few weeks time. So, if your question is not answered live tonight, it will be afterwards."
Copy of Richard's slides