In 1989, CFTR, the gene causing cystic fibrosis was discovered by researcher Lap-Chee Tsui at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children in collaboration with scientists at the University of Michigan.

Geneticists have been interested in cystic fibrosis since the disease was first identified in the 1930s. The disease is common in Caucasian populations — about 1 in every 25 people carries a mutated copy Today, an American born with cystic fibrosis has a life expectancy at least ten years longer than one born in 1989 did.