In 2025, BALR/PF-NI supported two 8-week summer studentships for students interested in taking part in research on pulmonary fibrosis over the summer. Since its completion, the students have had the opportunity to present their results at the annual conference of the British Association for Lung Research (BALR) held in Cardiff. See below for a detailed description of Darren’s project.
Darren’s Project
My project was supervised by Dr Bettina Schock at the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine (WWIEM), Queen’s University Belfast. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic disease involving the progressive scarring of lung tissue, which can cause shortness of breath and tiredness. The cause of the disease is unknown, although the activation of the immune cells, fibroblasts, is important in the disease pathway. Additionally, when taking part in wound healing, they behave abnormally, and this leads to scar tissue buildup in the lungs. My project focused on characterising the migration of fibroblasts in IPF, as it is known that fibroblast migration (cell movement) and proliferation (cell growth and division) are increased during disease.
Together with our collaborator Dr Amanda Tatler (Nottingham University), we conducted experiments where we grew fibroblasts derived from patients’ lungs on plastic plates and then scratched through them with a tool to mimic cell injury, then observed them over time and took images as the fibroblasts closed up the wound (wound healing). We did these experiments with fibroblasts taken from patients with IPF and healthy volunteers. In addition, we analysed the gene expression of these cells after scratching them using a laboratory technique called Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).
We observed that IPF fibroblasts closed the wound faster than control fibroblasts, and this was independent of stimulation of the cells with a known mediator in fibrosis (TGFβ1). The response of IPF fibroblasts appeared to be driven by migration and fibrosis, while control fibroblasts mainly migrated.
In the laboratory, we now want to apply this tool to fibroblasts derived from blood-derived stem cells. This way, we hope to reduce the need for lung biopsies from patients or volunteers.
I was very grateful for the opportunity to take part in research over the summer, and it opened my eyes to the level of discipline and creativity that goes into investigational research. Through this project, I have increased my interest in pulmonary and immunology-related diseases, and I will continue to expand my knowledge about various diseases, such as IPF. The skills I gained during the project have set a great foundation for any other research opportunities in the future, as I was able to take part in cell culturing, PCR and various assays. I was able to gain skills in data analysis and also travel to Cardiff to present my results at the BALR conference 2025. Many thanks to PF NI for giving me this great opportunity.
