Ongoing Research | Department of Medicine | School of Medicine

The Respiratory Investigation Unit (RIU) at Queen's University is dedicated to studying breathing discomfort and activity limitation in patients with a variety of cardiorespiratory diseases (eg., emphysema, chronic bronchitis, asthma, pulmonary hypertension, etc.).

These studies help develop innovative treatment approaches to alleviate breathing discomfort, increase functional capacity and improve quality of life in these patients. The effects of obesity, female gender, aging and pulmonary rehabilitation on ventilatory control at rest and during exercise are also being examined.

The RIU is looking to recruit volunteers to participate in a variety of research studies that are being conducted in our laboratory at Kingston General Hospital under the supervision of Dr. Denis O'Donnell.

Our current efforts are focused on recruiting the following types of patients:

Current and ex-smokers who are at least 40 years of age
With or without clinically diagnosed COPD
Presence of pulmonary hypertension with or without COPD
Presence of respiratory symptoms, i.e., breathing discomfort during activity
Absence of other significant illnesses that could make exertion unsafe
Normal weight, overweight, or obese

We are also looking for healthy control participants who are:

At least 40 years of age
Non-smokers or ex-smokers
Absence of lung disease or with normal pulmonary function
Absence of other significant illnesses that could make exertion unsafe
Normal weight, overweight, or obese

Most studies involve a series of pulmonary function tests and an exercise test on a stationary bike or treadmill.