Characterisation of cells in lung fibrosis

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Characterisation of cells in lung fibrosis

  • IRAS ID

    354033

  • Contact name

    Selim Cellek

  • Contact email

    selim.cellek@aru.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    Anglia Ruskin University

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    3 years, 0 months, 1 days

  • Research summary

    Lung fibrosis is the scarring of the lung tissue which carries significant morbidity and mortality. The number of patients are expected to rise considerably due to Covid-19 infections. Since the number, efficacy and safety of drugs to treat lung fibrosis is extremely limited, there is an urgent unmet need to research and develop new anti-fibrotic drugs.
    We have been working on lung fibrosis in collaboration with Essex Cardiothoracic Centre (Essex CTC) for more thane 3 years. During this time, we have furthered our understanding of how the lung fibrosis develops and how we can discover new medicines to prevent or treat it. We are now entering scientific collaborations with other academic research institutes and
    pharmaceutical companies to turn these discoveries into medicines. These collaborations may necessitate sharing tissue and cell samples obtained from the patients.
    Tissue samples will be collected from patients being operated at Essex CTC. Patients will be asked to give fully informed consent before their surgery is due to take place. The specimens will be totally anonymised. There will be no additional intervention or change to the surgical procedure/patient care.
    The tissue samples will be utilised to obtain cells, proteins and other cellular components which will be used to test chemical and biological compounds in the laboratory. We are also seeking approval to share this material with other academic research institutes or pharmaceutical companies who will be supporting us towards developing new medicines for lung fibrosis.

  • REC name

    South Central - Oxford C Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    25/SC/0051

  • Date of REC Opinion

    4 Apr 2025

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion