Newswise — Feb. 25, 2019 — The ATS Foundation has announced that 14 researchers have been awarded one-year, $40,000 Unrestricted Research Grants to advance pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine. These grants span basic, clinical and translational research in adult and pediatric medicine. Applicants consider how their research will provide novel approaches to challenging lung diseases, foster health care equality and improve patient outcomes.

Since it began in 2004, the ATS Foundation Research Program has awarded $19.3 million to 263 investigators, both in the U.S. and internationally. These researchers have gone on to receive $330 million in federal funding. In recent years, the Research Program has expanded the number and kinds of researchers it funds, but the primary emphasis remains on promising young investigators making the transition from working in established laboratories to becoming independent researchers. Their work spans basic, translational, and clinical research in pediatric and adult respiratory medicine.

“ATS Foundation grants invest in people — giving young investigators a chance in their crucial first years until they become established,” said Dean Schraufnagel, MD, chair of the ATS Foundation and professor of medicine at the University of Illinois Chicago. “Obtaining a competitive and rigorously evaluated ATS grant strengthens the ability of investigators to obtain major grants from the National Institutes of Health and other national and international agencies. This stepping-stone not only helps the recipients be successful, but it provides for a continuous channel of scientists to make tomorrow a better world for all of us.” “This year the Scientific Advisory Committee reviewed more letters of intent than ever before. It is exciting to see the diversity of research projects submitted grow and the research program portfolio become more robust each year,” said Richard J. Schwab, MD, a professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and chair of the ATS Scientific Advisory Committee.

“This will lead to new discoveries and have a direct impact on diagnosing and treating pulmonary, critical care and sleep disorders.”

The ATS Foundation Research Program Unrestricted Grant recipients for the 2018 grant cycle are:

ATS Foundation Unrestricted Research Grant in Pulmonary
Alessandra Adami, PhD
University of Rhode Island
Determinants of 5-year Progression of Muscle Dysfunction and Inactivity in COPD Patients

ATS Foundation Unrestricted Research Grant in Sleep Medicine
Thomaz F. Curado, PhD
Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine
Chemogenetic Approach to Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea

ATS Foundation Unrestricted Research Grant in Pulmonary
Laurie C. Eldredge, MD, PhD
Seattle Children's Hospital and University of Washington
Monocytes/Macrophages and the Role of IL-33 in Neonatal Lung Injury

ATS Foundation Unrestricted Research Grant in Pulmonary
Jegen Kandasamy, MD
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Role of Mitochondrial DNA in Neonatal Lung Injury

ATS Foundation Unrestricted Research Grant in Sleep Medicine
Luu V. Pham, MD
Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine
Acute Metabolic Effects of Oxygen in Hypoxemic Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients

ATS Foundation Unrestricted Research Grant in Critical Care
Seppo Rinne, MD, PhD
Boston University
The Impact of Professional Relationships on ICU Burnout

ATS Foundation Unrestricted Research Grant in Critical Care
Lokesh Kumar Sharma, PhD
Yale University
Mechanisms of Bacterial Dissemination in Lung Infection with Klebsiella pneumoniae

ATS Foundation Unrestricted Research Grant in Pulmonary
Ciara M. Shaver, MD, PhD
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Consequences of Lung Epithelial Injury During Lung Transplantation

ATS Foundation Unrestricted Research Grant in Critical Care
Benjamin H. Singer, MD, PhD
University of Michigan Medical School
Astrocyte Reprogramming and Blood-Brain Barrier Dysfunction in Sepsis

ATS Foundation Unrestricted Research Grant in Pulmonary
Huanxing Sun, PhD
Yale University
Mitochondrial DNA and Fibroblasts in SSc-ILD

ATS Foundation Unrestricted Research Grant in Pulmonary
Matthew Triplette, MD
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Examining Patient Adherence to Improve Lung Cancer Screening Implementation

ATS Foundation Unrestricted Research Grant in Sleep Medicine
Annelies Van Eyck, PhD
University of Antwerp
Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Intermittent Hypoxia: Does it Contribute to Adipose Tissue Dysfunction?

ATS Foundation Unrestricted Research Grant in Pulmonary
Eszter Vladar, PhD
University of Colorado School of Medicine
Canonical to Noncanonical Wnt Signaling Switch in the Airway Epithelium

ATS Foundation Unrestricted Research Grant in Pulmonary
Xiaoyi Yuan, PhD
UT Health Science Center at Houston
The Role of miR-147 in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

About the ATS Foundation
Since its inception, the ATS Foundation Research Program has awarded $19.3 million to 263 investigators, both in the U.S. and internationally. These researchers have gone on to receive $330 million in federal funding. That’s a return on investment of $17 per dollar awarded. Learn more about awardees.

 

About the American Thoracic Society
Founded in 1905, the American Thoracic Society is the world's leading medical association dedicated to advancing pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine. The Society’s more than 16,000 members prevent and fight respiratory disease around the globe through research, education, patient care and advocacy. The ATS publishes three journals, the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology and the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

The ATS will hold its 2019 International Conference, May 17-22, in Dallas, Texas, where world-renowned experts will share the latest scientific research and clinical advances in pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine.