A Clinical Proteomic Test for Patient Care

There are 2.6 million Canadians with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). COPD is a disease characterized by progressive loss of lung function that leads to shortness of breath, poor quality of life, reduced productivity, emergency visits, hospitalizations and mortality. The World Health Organization estimates that COPD will be the 3rd leading cause of death worldwide by 2030, accounting for more than 7 million deaths/year and 11,000 deaths/year in Canada. COPD patients frequently experience ‘lung attacks’, during which breathlessness, coughing, and sputum production dramatically increase, leading to urgent clinic visits, emergency admissions and hospitalizations. Lung attacks cost the Canadian health care system nearly $3 billion each year in direct expenditures. There are no blood tests to confirm a lung attack and because of this sometimes the doctors can make the wrong diagnosis, which leads to wrong therapies. In this project, we will develop a blood test to help doctors make the right diagnosis of lung attacks.

Faculty Supervisor:

Mari DeMarco

Student:

Meng Wang

Partner:

Providence Health Care

Discipline:

Medicine

Sector:

Health care and social assistance

University:

University of British Columbia