Interdisciplinary Capacity Enhancement: Bridging Excellence in Respiratory disease and Gender Studies (ICEBERGS)

ICEBERGS is a new team of distinguished researchers, new investigators and trainees whose goal is to undertake an innovative research program in sex and gender determinants of respiratory health. The guiding mission of our Team is to investigate and disseminate physiological and clinical factors of lung disease in men and women by employing innovative and novel gender-sensitive methods of research design, data collection, analysis and knowledge translation. Our Team has identified research priorities in the area of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). The ICEBERGS team will carry out a program of research with two goals: (1) advancing the current understanding of COPD in men and women from its pathophysiology to health outcomes; and (2) making conceptual and methodological advances in COPD research by exploring the adequacy (or not) of current standardized tools to conduct sex and gender-sensitive research and by developing new gender-sensitive tools where needed. Our discoveries will be communicated to the important stakeholders in COPD (including the public, patients, caregivers, and policy makers) through innovative strategies and key alliances with our established networks. Our Team will provide mentorship and leadership training for Post-Doctoral Fellows and graduate students, and will link these trainees with existing training programs affiliated with our Team members.