Dr Samantha Walker

On International Women’s Day, our Director of Research and Innovation, Dr Sam Walker, reflects on her career as a woman in research and the importance of researching how lung conditions affect women in different ways.

International Day of Women and Girls in Science is an opportunity to promote full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls. Dr Sam Walker, Director of Research and Innovation at Asthma + Lung UK introduces some of the amazing women in respiratory research we’re funding.

Today it’s a well-established fact that lung conditions can be influenced by our genes. But this wasn’t always the case. Pioneering research funded by Asthma UK, one of the founding organisations of Asthma + Lung UK, discovered the first genetic link to asthma. Dr Samantha Walker, Director of Research and Innovation, tells us all about this ground-breaking research and the importance of its legacy today.

Someone dies from a lung condition every five minutes in the UK. And millions more live with debilitating symptoms. Our new report, written with PwC, reveals the huge financial cost of lung conditions to the UK economy. It shows how increased investment in lung health research could lead to huge savings and increased productivity, and protect the future of the NHS.

Clinical trials are an essential part of medical research, looking at new ways to prevent, detect or treat disease. But recruitment into trials is struggling, with the number of patients accessing industry research falling by 44% between 2017 and 2021 (ABPI 2022). This is a serious threat to the long-term future of clinical research in the UK – and the benefits it brings to patients, the NHS and the economy.

Dr Samantha Walker tells us about Asthma + Lung UK’s mission to reduce respiratory morbidity and mortality by 20% over the next 5 years through a big focus on research and innovation.