Working together to grow our lung research

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a group of conditions that cause inflammation and scarring in the lungs, making it harder to breathe. The most common form has a life expectancy of three to five years from diagnosis, with limited treatment options.

Dr Sophie Fletcher, Consultant Respiratory Physician at University Hospital Southampton (UHS), has dedicated her research career towards improving care for these patients. However, she is aware that she cannot do this alone.

The UHS Research Leaders Programme (RLP) has allowed her to mentor and support others, as well as develop new collaborations. 

Creating more opportunities

Over the last three years, the RLP has enabled Sophie to develop her research.

“What it's done for me, personally, is it's allowed me to grow a portfolio of national and global clinical trials in interstitial lung disease,” she says, “which I’ve led as Principal Investigator and Chief Investigator.”

She’s focussed mainly on commercial studies, as they provide opportunities for patients to access novel treatments sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry. Commercial studies provide an income stream that allows expansion of the research team that facilitates the work of others with the Respiratory group. These studies also cover care costs for patients in the ‘standard care’ arm of treatment.

“My research team has got bigger,” she says. “As I’ve taken on more studies, the income has grown, and our team has grown.”

This has increased opportunities for patients with ILD at UHS to take part in research, allowing them to gain early access to new drugs.

Embedding research culture

Sophie has long been committed to supporting others to follow in her footsteps. Her RLP has accelerated this work, allowing her to recruit, supervise and mentor eight clinical fellows. These are doctors undertaking a fixed-term role that includes research.

She has also supervised five NIHR Associate Principal Investigators. This six-month training opportunity aims to develop health and care professionals to become the Principal Investigators of the future. Sophie says the research experience the fellows gain is still valuable, even if they decide not to pursue a career in research.

“Research should be part of clinical care,” she says. “If that’s something introduced to you at an early part of your career, you’re more likely to carry on doing it. It’s about embedding good practice, with research as part of your everyday clinical care.”

Forging new collaborations

Sophie also works closely with her colleagues, and has created new working relationships with other respiratory researchers.

One example is with Dr Aisha Fazleen, a newly appointed consultant investigating Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. This genetic condition increases the risk of lung diseases.

“She started up her research portfolio from scratch, and didn’t have a research fellow, so I lent her mine,” says Sophie. “I’ve become her mentor, as well as providing her with practical support.”

Sophie also works closely with asthma researcher and RLP awardee Dr Hitasha Rupani. Hitasha didn’t have enough funding for a fellow one year, so Sophie suggested they each fund half of a joint role.

“It’s all about collaborative work to find a solution,” she says.