Boehringer Ingelheim-sponsored award goes to Dr Marsland

Boehringer Ingelheim sponsors the European Respiratory Society’s (ERS) annual award for research in the field of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which this year went to Dr Benjamin John Marsland.

Now in its ninth year, the prize consists of 50,000 euros and is given to ERS members who demonstrate outstanding work in the field of pulmonology research.

Dr Marsland received the accolade for his discovery that infection of mice with the hookworm, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, leads to the development of COPD and emphysema.

“We congratulate Dr Marsland for his excellent work and extend our thanks to Boehringer Ingelheim, a leader in the research and treatment of COPD, for making this award possible,” said Benoit Nemery, chair of the ERS scientific committee.

Dr Marsland began his studies in New Zealand and completed his PhD at the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research. He became a group leader at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich in 2005.

Results of a recent trial released by Boehringer Ingelheim showed that tiotropium (Spiriva) administered to patients under the age of 50 with COPD significantly reduced the rate of lung function decline.