Every year, Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis gives vital money to research to stop lives being lost to pulmonary fibrosis (PF), made possible by your generous donations. Our conference awards are just one way that we provide critical support to improve diagnosis, care and treatment for people living with PF.
Our Conference Awards are like gold stars: They recognise the best research and help budding students and scientists to attend the most important events for lung health experts around the world.
Conferences are big science events where experts come together to share their ideas and discoveries. They are incredibly important for helping scientists to help more people affected by PF.
- Sharing science: Scientists get to share their latest research. This helps everyone learn new things quickly, which can lead to new ideas and faster change for people affected by PF.
- Helpful hints: When scientists present their work, other experts can give them suggestions for how to make their research even better.
- Teamwork: Conferences are great for meeting new colleagues and teaming up with other world leading experts. Working together can speed up the discovery of better diagnosis, care and treatment.
- Inspiration: Seeing what other scientists are doing can be really inspiring, helping to keep brilliant talent in the field of PF.
Awardees are selected throughout the year based on a detailed review process, assessing the quality of their research and its potential impact on pulmonary fibrosis. Selection criteria include the relevance of the research to pulmonary fibrosis, its scientific quality, and its potential to benefit patients and families.
Congratulations to Punchalee and Francesca who were awarded conference grants to attend the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress 2024 along with 20,000 attendees, and Louise who attended the International Colloquium on Lung and Airway Fibrosis (ICLAF) with over 500 pulmonary fibrosis experts!
Science updates and personal impact stories
Punchalee presented her research at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress 2024. Her study focused on how white blood cell counts might predict survival in interstitial lung diseases like idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). This simple yet effective blood test has the potential to help doctors determine which patients need closer monitoring.
Punchalee shared:
Our study shows that this simple blood test could help doctors know which patients are at greater risk of early death and need to be monitored more closely. At the congress, I got helpful feedback and met other researchers. I learned about new treatments and the different ways to diagnose complex cases in interstitial lung disease.
She also expressed her gratitude:
I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. Elizabeth Renzoni, Dr. Carmel Stock, and all my colleagues at Royal Brompton Hospital for their invaluable support. I would also like to extend my thanks to Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis for supporting my attendance to the conference.
Francesca also attended the ERS Congress 2024, where she presented her research using a poster. Her work highlighted significant differences in IPF death rates across Europe, with some countries showing much higher rates than others.
Francesca explained:
I talked about IPF death rates in Europe, showing big differences between countries. For example, Ireland, the UK, and Finland had high rates, while Bulgaria had low rates. These differences might be due to access to healthcare, how diseases are diagnosed, or environmental factors, like air pollution. We need to do more research to understand the why so we can help more people.
The conference also provided an opportunity for collaboration:
I’m incredibly grateful for the support from APF and people’s generous donations. I got really useful feedback and had good discussions about healthcare differences and the need for standard diagnosis methods. Excitedly, I met researchers from the UK and other European countries who share my interests which could lead to future collaborations.
Finally, I’d like to thank Prof. Richard Hubbard, all my Colleagues at the University of Nottingham, and Prof. Martina Bonifazi for letting me approach this interesting field of research, and to the APF for supporting me at the ERS congress.
Louise attended the International Colloquium on Lung and Airway Fibrosis (ICLAF), a specialised conference for lung scarring diseases. Her research focused on neutrophils, a type of immune cell, and their role in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). She found that neutrophils in IPF patients appear more immature and may work differently than those in healthy people, even in the early stages of the disease.
Louise shared:
I hope my research will encourage more studies on neutrophils in lung scarring. Understanding their role could lead to new treatments. This might also help improve treatments for sudden worsening of symptoms in ILD patients, often caused by infections.
She reflected on the value of the conference:
At the conference, I got helpful feedback and met researchers from the UK and the US. Next, I plan to work with the scientists I met! The talks I listened to were inspiring, especially those on new technologies and clinical trials for ILDs. I'm grateful to Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis for supporting my attendance at ICLAF, which was a great opportunity to present my work and grow as a researcher.
Want to get involved?
At APF, we understand that supporting research into pulmonary fibrosis is a powerful motivator for many of us – whether as supporters, volunteers or donors. By investing in research today, you will provide vital support for generations to come, helping us to stop lives being lost to PF.
APF funded research is only possible thanks to the generosity of our incredible community. Why not gather a group of loved ones, pick a date, a location and distance, and raise money? Every penny you raise will go towards improving our understanding of PF, making progress towards faster diagnosis, new and better treatments, managing symptoms, and enhancing care services.
Make a difference today:
- Sign Up for a Fundraiser: Organise a fundraising activity and contribute to our mission in a fun and meaningful way.
- Donate: Every gift, no matter the size, helps continue our vital work. Your donations fuel progress in research, care, and support for people living with PF.
Share your lived experience
Want to share your lived experience with scientists to help shape future PF research? Or collaborate with us to create information or stories about research? Contact us at involvement@actionpf.org to get started.