Academic Respiratory Unit
Academic Respiratory Unit
The Academic Respiratory Unit (ARU) is a multi-disciplinary team consisting of non-clinical and clinical scientists, students and research nurses. Our aim is to improve the management, treatment and prevention of lung disease by a strategy integrating laboratory and clinical research.
The ARU, formally the Lung Research Group, was founded in 1995. The unit has since seen a significant expansion in personnel and the scope of work undertaken. It is currently led by Professor Ann Millar, Professor of Respiratory Medicine, and Dr Nick Maskell, Reader in Respiratory Medicine, both of whom are Honorary Respiratory Consultant Physicians at North Bristol NHS Trust.
The ARU is funded by charitable, private and government organisations and has received funding over the years from numerous sources, including:
Group research
The work of the ARU extends from basic cell biology of the lung to respiratory clinical trials.
Our Cell Biology work is focused on lung injury and repair and translational studies of biomarkers.
The Clinical Trials team supports a number of National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Portfolio studies and commercially funded studies with a particular focus on pleural disease, interstitial lung disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).