Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a rare lung disease that causes irreversible scarring of the lungs and has a very low survival rate. Every year in Australia it’s estimated that 1,250 people are diagnosed with IPF.

Pulmonary fibrosis research helps us understand how the disease is caused, how it develops and how it can be best treated.

What we are doing now and where our research is taking us

Our Clinical Trials Unit undertakes pulmonary fibrosis studies to explore new ways to prevent the disease and improve the quality of everyday life for those diagnosed with it.

Scientists within the Tissue Repair Group and the Stem Cell Therapy Unit are also investigating pulmonary fibrosis on a cellular level. This includes how immune cells respond to signals from damaged lung cells and how that affects scar formation in the lung.

Our goal is to gain a better understanding of how cells interact and lead to fibrosis. In time we hope this will lead to new therapies.  

Tylah Miles, PhD Student