This story originally appeared on the Lung Association of Nova Scotia’s website and has been republished with their permission.
The Lung Association of Nova Scotia is pleased to continue supporting local respiratory research
Halifax, Nova Scotia – The Lung Association of Nova Scotia (LANS) is delighted to congratulate two local researchers who were each awarded $25,000 from the annual Legacy Research Grant awards.
“We are very proud to be supporting local research,” said Robert MacDonald, President & CEO of LANS. “With funding support from Research Nova Scotia, we are making positive strides in respiratory research, which is especially important given the situation we’ve been facing with COVID-19.”
The first recipient, Dr. Tamara Franz-Odendaal from Mount Saint Vincent University, will be researching tracheal development and signalling molecules, looking at how they function in relation to lung disease.
“We are grateful to the Lung Association of Nova Scotia for supporting our research,” said Dr. Franz-Odendaal. “It is important to understand the development of organs related to the respiratory system, as this can provide valuable insight into lung disease prevention and treatment.”
The second grant was awarded to Dr. Daniel Rainham from Dalhousie University, and will be used to calculate estimates of smoking behaviours at the community level so that efforts to improve lung health are more targeted and effective.
“We will map data to support the Lung Association of Nova Scotia and the Nova Scotia Health Authority and their efforts to promote health and delivery of health services, particularly for communities with higher rates of smoking prevalence in Nova Scotia,” said Dr. Rainham.
“We were pleased to support the Lung Association’s investment in more local research this year,” says Stefan Leslie, CEO of Research Nova Scotia. “This respiratory research will advance diagnosis, treatment, and prevention to help improve the future lung health of Nova Scotians.”
The Legacy Research Grant has been funding local, innovative, cutting-edge research for over 30 years. The grants provide seed funding to support respiratory research to help improve lung health in Nova Scotia.
About the Lung Association of Nova Scotia
The Lung Association of Nova Scotia is a volunteer-driven charity organization whose mission is to improve quality of life by controlling and preventing lung disease through research, advocacy, patient services and education.