Sandpit report – Structure and function in airways disease
On the 21st of September, BIOREME hosted a primer event online, to introduce participants to research challenges that would be explored at the in-person research sandpit that followed. Prof Salman Siddiqui, Imperial College London and BIOREME steering committee member, opened the event detailing the goals of the sandpit:
To explore opportunities for integrating mathematical modelling to better understand and treat airways disease exploring the themes identified
The multiscale nature of airways disease: How do type 2 immune and stromal cell interactions predicate airway tissue and physiological dysfunction in asthma?
The role of lung structure-function in drug delivery: How does regional lung disease in CF impact the response to inhaled therapeutics and how can this information be used to design clinical trials (as an exemplar personalised medicine structure/function challenge)?
To form new interdisciplinary collaborative groups to identify key research questions.
Develop research questions into initial plans for grant development.
The online event enabled researchers to understand some of the latest, high-quality research within the remit of each challenge and covered the clinical, biological and mathematical modelling perspectives. Prof Salman Siddiqui was joined by Prof Bindi Brook and Dr Laura Yates to discuss opportunities for multi-scale modelling in asthma. Prof Alex Horsley, BIOREME’s deputy chair, was joined by Prof Chantal Darquenne and Prof Omar Usmani who delivered talks on CF, aerosol delivery and deposition, and state of the art measurement techniques.
In-person session
On the 26th September, participants joined BIOREME at Imperial College London, where we recapped the discussions from the online event and highlighted some key questions and opportunities for mathematical modelling. We were delighted to hear from Dr Erika Kennington, Head of Research and Innovation, Asthma and Lung UK. She presented the key findings from a patient perspectives study they delivered in collaboration with BIOREME, which highlighted patient priorities. Erika stayed throughout day, ensuring patient priorities remained at the forefront of any research project ideas.
Next steps
The participants worked hard and collaboratively throughout the day to develop some exciting initial project ideas. By the end of the day, two working groups had formed, focusing on two different areas. The groups will continue to work collaboratively together to develop their ideas into a short proposal for peer review from the BIOREME steering committee. They will each be supported by £5k of funding to support follow-on workshops to develop competitive funding proposals.
We were joined by medical writer Dr Sarah Nelson, Green Pen Solutions, who covered the event to provide a detailed report on the discussions which will be used to support grant funding proposals and a published article.
We’d like to thank the guest presenters; Prof Clare Lloyd, Dr Laura Yates, Prof Omar Usmani, Prof Chantal Darquenne, Dr Erika Kennington, the organisers; Prof Salman Siddiqui, Prof Bindi Brook, Prof Alex Horsley, Christos Nikolaou, Dr Carl Whitfield, Dr Anne Canning, and the attendees, for supporting the event.