Ann Marie Healy, AMBER

AMBER researcher secures €600k to develop dry inhaler

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Ann Marie Healy, AMBER

11 November 2016

Prof Anne Marie Healy, Investigator with AMBER, the Science Foundation Ireland-funded materials science centre, hosted in Trinity College Dublin, has been awarded €600,000 in research funding to develop a new inhaler for the treatment of lung disease. The funding was provided through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), one of the world’s foremost medical research centres based in the US.

The funding will be used to develop a dry powder inhaler for the treatment of lung disease, and could help millions of patients with cystic fibrosis, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Prof Healy said: “Ireland has the highest incidence of cystic fibrosis in the world, with approximately one in 19 Irish people carrying one copy of the altered gene that causes the condition. In addition, Ireland has the fourth highest prevalence of asthma in the world, with almost 5,000 asthma admissions to hospital on average each year. Our proposed new treatment has the potential to greatly improve the respiratory function of these patients with lung disease, thus improving overall quality of life and reducing hospital admissions.”

The funding allocated to Prof Healy is part of two large NIH projects, coordinated by Prof John Fahy, Professor of Medicine from the University of California San Francisco, and valued at €8.8 million. UCD’s Prof Stefan Oscarson, Professor of Chemical Biology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, is also a partner.

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