Lung health research
Air pollution and our lungs
An Interview with Dr. Stephan van Eeden by Larry Pellizzari
What do people need to know?
With each breath we take we inhale minute toxins. Air pollution is inescapable. Even filter masks, such as the ones worn by bicycle couriers, give little protection against the smaller particles in air pollution. Fortunately, many of the toxins we inhale are neutralized by our immune system using specialized cells that recognize and remove foreign substances from the lung.
What are you researching?
We’re looking at the lungs and how they react when exposed to air pollution. One of our studies looked at lung inflammation in firefighters fighting forest fires and showed that inhalation of smoke from wild forest fires causes inflammation both in the lung and the blood stream.
Why is it so important?
The evidence linking the relationship between air pollution and our health is overwhelming from an epidemiological point of view but controlling bodies will not change guidelines as to what is safe with regard to air pollution exposure until we prove cause and effect, as opposed to general associations between the two. So part of what I’m doing is looking at how air pollution induces lung inflammation to try and link them to specific symptoms.
What do you hope to achieve?
We must recognize air pollution is bad for our health, get people motivated to take action, and prompt government to take action. Real change will happen when people start promoting cleaner living. That will then translate to change in organizations and government.
What inspires you?
Interaction with my patients. There’s always something I wish I could do to help. 50 percent of my time is spent conducting research, and 50 percent is spent as a clinician and respirologist at St Paul’s Hospital. If I hadn’t been a clinician I probably wouldn’t have had as many research ideas.
What do you consider your strongest characteristic?
Perseverance. Sometimes you have an idea and things don’t always work out. I have a tendency to persist and persevere, and a couple of times my ideas have proven important.
How do you measure success?
In research, the term “publish or perish” is often heard. It’s important, but I don’t think that publications alone should be the yardsticks of success. Success can also be establishing a new idea or concept that causes a paradigm shift. Another important indicator is the influence you have on the students you mentor.
How do you enjoy your downtime?
When time permits, I’m a very enthusiastic golfer and love the arts, especially opera, the theatre and classical music. I also try to act on my concerns for the environment. I ride a Vespa Scooter to get around town
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
That’s not an easy question to answer. It has been said that about 90 percent of new ideas are generated by people under age 40. The older we get, the more boxed in our ideas seem to get, while younger people are still able to think outside of the box. As someone that is in the “older” category, I’m still very curious and hope my experience and wisdom still have a positive effect on younger people.
Dr Stephan van Eeden is an Internist at St Paul's Hospital and a Professor with the Faculty of Medicine attached to the Division of Internal Medicine and Respirology at UBC. In a study funded by the British Columbia Lung Association, he is investigating the role of macrophages in lung inflammation that is induced by air pollution.