Abstract
My research activities commenced at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
(LSH&TM) where I gained my doctoral degree and continued there as a Research Fellow. I
was subsequently offered a position at the Royal Free Hospital (RFH) by my external PhD
examiner, who had an interest in the delivery of therapeutic drugs, to set up a research section
within his NHS department. The research apparatus used at the LSH&TM was transferred to
the RFH and I continued and expanded my research activities with the availability of better
monitoring equipment, resulting in a number of scientists gaining postgraduate degrees (MSc,
PhD, MD).
The research involved the study of lung mucociliary clearance (LMC), a host defence
mechanism of the lungs using a well-controlled, objective, non-invasive, in vivo,
radioisotopic technique. The effects of physical factors, disease, pharmacological and
physical therapies were investigated on the function of LMC. Other aspects of research
involved the study of the delivery of drugs via the inhaled route from pressurised metered
dose inhalers, dry powder inhalers and jet nebulisers. A radioisotopic technique was
developed for measuring, objectively and quantitatively, the amount of inhaled cigarette
smoke reaching the lungs. The use of aerosols labelled with a radioisotope was explored for
early detection of lung abnormalities and as an alternative to radioactive gases for lung
ventilation scanning.
As a result of my experience in the use of radioaerosols, in the design, conduct and reporting
of clinical trials, I was offered the post, at Boehringer Ingelheim Ltd (a German
Pharmaceutical Company), of Global Clinical Development Lead. I led an international team
of ten, comprising physicians, scientists, a project data manager and a project statistician, in
the clinical development, in parallel, of eight respiratory drugs. These drugs were
administered from the first inhaler (Respimat®) of a new class of inhalers called Soft MistTM
Inhalers.
One hundred and seventy one scientific publications are listed in my CV which is included at
the end of the thesis. Fifty of these publications are reported in the thesis as examples, to
illustrate the breadth and depth of the research undertaken in the use of radioaerosols in the
study of the function of the human lung.