Major areas of research interest are cellular and molecular mechanisms of the resolution and persistence of lung inflammation and scarring; mechanisms of acute lung injury in the adult respiratory distress syndrome; gene therapeutic approaches to the augmentation of genes that protect against tissue injury in lung inflammation; biology of small-cell lung cancer; the effects of cigarette smoke, ozone and other pollutants on the lung; sleep apnoea; applied lung physiology. The unit also offers a number of research opportunities in areas of clinical interest, for example: asthma; chronic bronchitis; emphysema; cystic fibrosis.