Pollution and hazardous occupational exposures, climate change, community and household environments, and lifestyle factors such as diet or smoking can all have a profound impact on respiratory health. The contribution of any or all of these environmental exposures to the health of an individual, a group, or a population depends on multiple factors, including living and working conditions, behaviours, resources, and susceptibility. While some exposures can be addressed and optimized at the level of an individual, others require a population or policy approach, and many a combination. As such, understanding and improving lung health in the greater context of environmental and occupational health requires a comprehensive approach.
Research
Our internationally renowned translational science platform at the University of British Columbia leverages the power of controlled human exposure methodology to focus on the respiratory and immunological health effects of inhaled environmental and occupational threats, using diesel exhaust, western red-cedar, and phthalates as model inhalants. In particular, we use a range of genomic techniques, including epigenomics, to better understand the mechanisms and pathophysiology of inhaled substances on lung health. We have advanced the understanding of the effects of inhaled pollutants on human health so that regulators and policy makers can make science-based air quality policy decisions. Our unique Air Pollution Exposure Laboratory (APEL) allows relevant and real-world, yet safe, human exposure to traffic-related air pollutants and other potentially harmful inhalants in a carefully controlled experimental setting. We also study such pollutants in vitro at the cellular level to further understand how exposures cause illness and disease.
In parallel to understanding the impact of pollutant exposures on respiratory health, we are actively evaluating and testing strategies to mitigate harm and build resiliency in individuals and our population. We are investigating the science behind nutrition, obesity, medications, and other factors which have the potential to influence the body’s response to air pollution. We are actively working to identify susceptible populations, and targeting evaluation and implementation of novel and established interventions to populations with the greatest need and the greatest potential for benefit. This approach extends beyond air pollution to all factors related to climate change, including extreme heat.
Our efforts to understand climate change-related impacts on respiratory health are formally supported by UBC Climate Change Health Effects, Adaptation, and ResiLience (HEAL) research excellence cluster. HEAL is an interdisciplinary group of UBC and SFU faculty members, stakeholders, end-users, and trainees from multiple disciplines such as medicine, forestry, planning, public health, engineering, architecture. The cluster has three themes: (1) Health Effects of Climate Change, (2) Co-benefits of Adaptation for Protection and Prevention, and (3) Research to Action, by Partnering with Stakeholders.
Through the Legacy for Airway Health (LAH) initiative, we use stakeholder engagement, integrated knowledge translation, and implementation science techniques to increase the impact of our work. Through LAH, we are able to collaborate with people at risk of, affected by, and responsible for remediating inhaled threats at the personal and public health level. This comprehensive translational framework not only provides valuable insight into the pathways by which what we breathe may damage human health, but also illuminates and validates potential avenues of prevention and intervention.
Care
We provide specialized clinical services for complex and suspected lung disease related to environmental exposures (tobacco/inhalant use, pollutant, occupational or otherwise). Referrals are accepted from across British Columbia.
We also provide primary expertise for WorkSafeBC and related compensation and legal challenges.
Smoking and vaping cessation support is available through the VGH Smoking Cessation Clinic (no referral needed). See our Smoking and Vaping page for more details.
BC Cancer runs the provincial Lung Cancer Screening Program. See our Lung Cancer page for more details.
Research
Our internationally renowned translational science platform at the University of British Columbia leverages the power of controlled human exposure methodology to focus on the respiratory and immunological health effects of inhaled environmental and occupational threats, using diesel exhaust, western red-cedar, and phthalates as model inhalants. In particular, we use a range of genomic techniques, including epigenomics, to better understand the mechanisms and pathophysiology of inhaled substances on lung health. We have advanced the understanding of the effects of inhaled pollutants on human health so that regulators and policy makers can make science-based air quality policy decisions. Our unique Air Pollution Exposure Laboratory (APEL) allows relevant and real-world, yet safe, human exposure to traffic-related air pollutants and other potentially harmful inhalants in a carefully controlled experimental setting. We also study such pollutants in vitro at the cellular level to further understand how exposures cause illness and disease.
In parallel to understanding the impact of pollutant exposures on respiratory health, we are actively evaluating and testing strategies to mitigate harm and build resiliency in individuals and our population. We are investigating the science behind nutrition, obesity, medications, and other factors which have the potential to influence the body’s response to air pollution. We are actively working to identify susceptible populations, and targeting evaluation and implementation of novel and established interventions to populations with the greatest need and the greatest potential for benefit. This approach extends beyond air pollution to all factors related to climate change, including extreme heat.
Our efforts to understand climate change-related impacts on respiratory health are formally supported by UBC Climate Change Health Effects, Adaptation, and ResiLience (HEAL) research excellence cluster. HEAL is an interdisciplinary group of UBC and SFU faculty members, stakeholders, end-users, and trainees from multiple disciplines such as medicine, forestry, planning, public health, engineering, architecture. The cluster has three themes: (1) Health Effects of Climate Change, (2) Co-benefits of Adaptation for Protection and Prevention, and (3) Research to Action, by Partnering with Stakeholders.
Through the Legacy for Airway Health (LAH) initiative, we use stakeholder engagement, integrated knowledge translation, and implementation science techniques to increase the impact of our work. Through LAH, we are able to collaborate with people at risk of, affected by, and responsible for remediating inhaled threats at the personal and public health level. This comprehensive translational framework not only provides valuable insight into the pathways by which what we breathe may damage human health, but also illuminates and validates potential avenues of prevention and intervention.
Care
We provide specialized clinical services for complex and suspected lung disease related to environmental exposures (tobacco/inhalant use, pollutant, occupational or otherwise). Referrals are accepted from across British Columbia.
We also provide primary expertise for WorkSafeBC and related compensation and legal challenges.
Smoking and vaping cessation support is available through the VGH Smoking Cessation Clinic (no referral needed). See our Smoking and Vaping page for more details.
BC Cancer runs the provincial Lung Cancer Screening Program. See our Lung Cancer page for more details.