The PhD student will participate in research which is part of the Netherlands Research Council (NWO)-funded consortium
RecovAir: REpairing lung damage via reCOVery of stromal heAlth to restore respIRatory function that aims to develop a locally administered regenerative cell therapy for tissue restoration in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This is a prevalent inflammatory disease characterized by irreversible airflow obstruction. The disease has high morbidity and mortality, being the third leading cause of death worldwide. The tissue damage in COPD is severe and irreversible. Therefore, there is an urgent need for regenerative cell therapy for tissue restoration in COPD.
Within the UMCG, the PhD student will work with the ex vivo lung perfusion model where the main focus will be optimization of the model for administration of regenerative therapies developed within the RecovAir consortium. The ex vivo lung perfusion will be performed in cadaveric animal lungs and human explanted COPD lungs. In addition, further studies will be performed on deposition/distribution and engraftment of regenerative cells after the initial optimization.