Lung health

Respiratory disease is one of the greatest challenges facing healthcare worldwide, affecting millions of people and placing significant demands on health systems. At RCSI, our researchers are improving the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of lung disease through patient-focused research that brings together scientists, clinicians, engineers, healthcare partners and patients.

Our research spans chronic respiratory conditions, rare genetic diseases, lung cancer and the environmental factors that damage lung health, with a shared goal of helping people breathe better, receive more personalised care, and live longer. By combining discovery science with clinical expertise and digital innovation, we are changing how respiratory disease is detected and managed.

Detecting lung cancer earlier

RCSI is also helping to transform lung cancer care through the Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre, where researchers and clinicians are advancing precision medicine and developing new approaches to earlier diagnosis and more personalised treatment.

A key example is the Beaumont RCSI Irish Cancer Society Lung Health Check, Ireland's first community-based lung health screening pilot, led by consultant medical oncologist Professor Jarushka Naidoo. Using mobile low-dose CT scanning, the programme is bringing screening directly into communities in North Dublin and the North East to identify lung cancer and other respiratory disease before symptoms develop, and generating evidence that will help shape the future of lung cancer screening in Ireland.

Living well with chronic respiratory disease

Innovation is equally important in the management of chronic respiratory disease. Professor Richard Costello's research has transformed the use of digital technologies in asthma care, leading to the development of Phyxiom, an RCSI spin-out company that combines remote lung function monitoring with digital inhaler tracking to support earlier intervention and better disease control between appointments.

To hear Professor Costello and a panel of patients and clinicians discuss how asthma care is evolving, watch this MyHealth RCSI episode, Rethinking Asthma. Cystic fibrosis is another area of sustained RCSI research. Professor Paul McNally leads ENHANCE, an international study following newborn babies and young children with cystic fibrosis to understand how the disease develops in an era of new, highly effective treatments. Carried out across 13 paediatric clinics in Ireland and the UK, the study is ensuring that as CF care continues to advance, our understanding of the disease in early childhood keeps pace.

Understanding rare respiratory disease

One of RCSI's longest-standing areas of excellence is alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), a hereditary condition that can lead to serious lung and liver disease. Professor Noel G McElvaney has led RCSI's work in this field for more than two decades, establishing the first national targeted detection programme for AATD in Europe and building an international reputation for research that has shaped clinical guidelines worldwide. This work has improved diagnosis for a condition that is often under-recognised, and has helped patients and families get answers sooner.

Professor Killian Hurley's research is tackling genetic and fibrotic lung diseases by using patient-derived stem cells to grow lung tissue in the lab and test how it responds to treatment before that treatment ever reaches a patient. His team leads the RCSI Patient Stem Cell Discovery Core, Ireland's first dedicated patient stem cell research facility, based at Beaumont Hospital.

The air we breathe

We are also investigating the environmental drivers of respiratory disease. RCSI researchers are examining how air pollution affects lung and cardiovascular health, work that feeds directly into public health policy and community awareness – explored further in the MyHealth RCSI episode – Clearing the Air. Understanding and addressing what we breathe is central to preventing lung disease before it starts, not just treating it once it develops.

Watch the MyHealth video here on Clearing the Air

Across lung health, RCSI researchers work closely with hospitals, patient groups, industry and international collaborators. From rare respiratory disease to community lung cancer screening, digital health technologies and the environmental determinants of lung health, our work is helping to detect disease earlier, personalise treatment and improve outcomes for patients in Ireland and around the world.