A centerpiece of the American Lung Association Research Institute is our Awards & Grants Program, which supports the best and brightest scientists helping to create a world free from lung disease. For 120 years, our Awards & Grants Program has advanced medical and scientific research to improve the quality of life for lung disease patients and their families.
A new funding cycle means new opportunities for scientific progress! To learn more about our key awards and grants funding, visit: Lung.org/awards
Spotlight on Awardees
With 51 projects receiving funding as part of this latest cycle, we are currently funding a total of 139 awards. Here are a few highlights of the newly funded researchers and their projects. Check back in October for the full list of 2024-2025 awardees!
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Ayobami Akenroye, MBChB, PhD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Inc
ALA/AAAAI Allergic Respiratory Diseases Research Award: Integrative phenotyping of response to anti-IgE and anti-IL5 biologics in the treatment of asthma
This project aims to identify proteins that are predictive of responses to omalizumab and mepolizumab, biologic asthma treatments to determine which drug results in a better treatment response in people with asthma. This study will improve our ability to match the right patient to omalizumab or mepolizumab.
Sergejs Berdnikovs, PhD, Northwestern University
Emerging Respiratory Pathogens Award: Airway metabolic dysfunction and severe respiratory viral infections
This project will investigate how metabolic dysregulation in airway epithelial cells from obese and diabetic individuals affects their response to respiratory viral infections. It aims to understand how disrupted insulin and RAS signaling contribute to increased susceptibility to severe respiratory infections.
Marta Gomes, PhD, Indiana University
Catalyst Award: The role of WWOX in cell proliferation and metabolic reprogramming in PAH
This study focuses on a specific protein called WWOX, a protein with diverse roles in cellular activities, and the absence of which may contribute to increased cell growth and metabolic changes in the arteries, leading to vascular remodeling in PAH. Our goal is to understand the role of WWOX in PAH and define it as a target for therapeutic strategies.
James Krings, MD, Washington University in St. Louis
Public Health and Public Policy Research Award: Dissemination of a cost-analysis of guideline-recommended Single Maintenance and Reliever Therapy (SMART) for asthma
This study aims to perform a cost analysis and determine barriers to deploying Single Maintenance and Reliever Therapy (SMART) for Medicaid payors. This is the first cost analysis of SMART in the United States and the results could expand access to asthma care and improve disease outcomes.
Milica Momcilovic, MD, PhD, The Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles
Lung Cancer Discovery Award: Estrogen-GPCR signaling axis drives resistance to targeted therapy
This study aims to determine how an experimental drug, TAK228, inhibits tumor growth in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC), a subtype of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, in combination with other drugs. This is particularly important in females as there has previously been shown to be an estrogen-related link.
Tatsuya Tsukui, PhD, The Regents of the University of California, San Francisco
Hastings Innovation for Interstitial Lung Disease Award: Multifaceted regulation of pathologic fibroblasts by inflammatory cytokines in pulmonary fibrosis
This project study will use innovative tools to determine the role of inflammatory signals on fibroblasts in pulmonary fibrosis, a disease where chronic injury in the lung leads to scarring. This will help determine how inflammation contributes to pulmonary fibrosis and may lead to novel therapeutic strategies to target inflammatory fibroblasts.
Page last updated: August 1, 2024
