CLA awards two early career investigator grants for COPD research

Researchers Devin Phillips and Graeme Koelwyn will each receive $30,000 for their innovative research that will help improve the treatment and outcomes for those living with COPD. The two recipients of CLA’s Early Career Investigator Awards were announced recently announced. Funding begins April 1 and researchers will submit their final reports on these projects to CLA by May 31, 2026.

The impact of pulmonary vascular dysfunction on breathlessness in COPD
Devin Phillips, PhD
York University

Dr. Phillips and his team hope to better understand how the blood vessels in the lungs respond during exercise, and to see if differences in these responses are linked to the perceived shortness of breathing in patients with mild COPD. Dr. Phillips is an assistant professor of applied cardiorespiratory physiology in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science at York University.

Inflammatory memory in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Graeme Koelwyn, PhD
Simon Fraser University

Dr. Koelwyn and his team will be among the first to study how inflammatory memory of the body’s immune system contributes to the development and progression of COPD, unlocking new opportunities to develop or repurpose drugs that target these changes. Dr. Koelwyn is an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University and Canada Research Chair Tier II in Public Health 'Omics in Exercise and Disease.