July 12, 2001

Contacts:
Andrew Weisser, (818) 703-6444
aweisser@earthlink.net
or your local American Lung Association
at (800) LUNG-USA. www.californialung.org

American Lung Association of California Awards More Than $500,000 to Researchers -- Links Lung Disease Mechanisms to Possible Cures

(July 12, 2001, OAKLAND, CA) Research holds the key to finding better treatments and possible cures. That’s why the American Lung Association of California invests nearly half a million dollars every year in researchers across the state who are trying to unlock the mysteries of lung disease.

The American Lung Association funds basic research that forms the building blocks for future discoveries. The association funds young researchers who have promising careers in investigative research.

"Funding researchers at the beginning of their careers is an important investment," said Guy Soo Hoo, chair of the American Lung Association of California’s Research Committee and director, Medical Intensive Care Unit at the West Los Angeles Healthcare Center of the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. "In the long-term, it will result in better treatments for respiratory diseases such as asthma, lung cancer and cystic fibrosis."

The American Lung Association of California grants Research Awards of up to $35,000 per year to those who have demonstrated a commitment to a career in investigative or academic research. Research Training Fellowship Awards of up to $32,500 are granted to new researchers who want to pursue pulmonary research. Pulmonary Nurse Fellowship Awards of up to $6,000 are granted to master’s level nursing students who are pursuing careers in pulmonary care. Beginning next year, award amounts for Research Grants and Research Training Fellowships will increase to up to $50,000 per year. In addition, a Career Investigator Award category will be funded for up to $75,000 per year.

These research grants provide the "seed" money to help researchers get their projects off the ground so they can secure additional funding to advance their theories.

"Many senior researchers got their start with a grant from the American Lung Association," Dr. Soo Hoo said. "Because they go on to secure larger grants from other institutions, their discoveries aren’t always attributed to research supported by the American Lung Association. But it is often American Lung Association-supported work that has aided their findings."

For example, the American Lung Association of California has funded many research projects examining the role of surfactant, which is absent in premature lungs. Deaths due to respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) of premature infants have been reduced significantly over the past three decades as a result of these discoveries and the use of surfactant in treating premature newborns.

Finding a cure for any disease requires a long-term commitment to basic research and understanding the basic mechanisms of disease. Discovering new treatments and cures takes thousands and thousands of hours in the laboratory developing a basic understanding of the disease mechanisms.

"Every dollar invested in the American Lung Association’s research program comes back to the community in better care and treatments for people with lung disease," Dr. Soo Hoo said. "Like all investments, it may take time to pay off. But eventually, it will."

Californians can invest in the research program through their California state income tax form by contributing to the California Lung Disease and Asthma Research Fund. This year the fund was located on Line 63 of the tax form. The state income tax form offers a direct line to fund lung research. Every dollar contributed goes directly to the American Lung Association of California’s research program.

"This year we have funded a wide variety of projects that are investigating aspects of several lung diseases including asthma, lung cancer and cystic fibrosis," Dr. Soo Hoo said.

This year’s Research Awards include:

John A. Belperio, MD, at the University of California, Los Angeles, is examining how a specific protein affects white blood cells when a transplanted lung is rejected to develop a way to improve the success rate for lung transplant recipients. This is a $10,000 supplemental award to complement the $25,000 award from the American Lung Association.

Saroj K. Basak, Ph.D., at the University of California, Los Angeles, is investigating new strategies to boost the immune system and target it against lung cancer so that a new method of treating lung cancer can be developed.

Chantal Darquenne, Ph.D., at the University of California, San Diego, is investigating how particles from the air are deposited in the human lung to better understand how air pollutants increase our risk of developing lung disease.

Jorge A. Gutierrez, MD, at the University of California, San Francisco, is examining how cells in the lung react to injury or disease to better understand how the lungs develop and repair themselves.

Mehis Pold, MD, at the University of California, Los Angeles, is studying how an alteration in the regulation of a specific protein affects a particular gene to help design future drugs for treating lung cancer.

Paul J. Wolters, MD, at the University of California, San Francisco, is examining how certain enzymes secreted by mast cells affect inflammation in the airways to find better therapies for inflammatory lung diseases like asthma.

This year’s Research Training Fellowship Awards include:

Omid Akbari, Ph.D., at Stanford University, is exploring the role of T cells in regulating the immune response so that more targeted treatments for asthma can be developed.

Anuradha Desai, Ph.D., at University of California, San Diego, is examining where a key enzyme is located in inflammatory cells and what proteins it interacts with to further the development of potential new treatments for asthma, pulmonary fibrosis and pneumonia.

Reid Ikeda, MD, at the University of California, San Diego, is investigating two types of inflammatory cells commonly found in asthmatic airways to help identify new therapies to inhibit the chronic inflammatory response.

Shazia M. Jamil, MD, at the University of California, San Diego, is examining how inflammatory fats produced by lung cancer cells affect tumor growth to develop important insights for the future discovery of new treatments for lung cancer.

Denis Jones, MD, at the University of California, San Diego, is studying the immune system’s response to HIV and tuberculosis to better understand the defense mechanisms so new treatments that boost the immune system can be developed.

Jeannie Kim, MD, University of California, at San Diego, is investigating why high altitude can cause fluid in the lung and the role of a vascular growth factor to provide a better understanding for developing treatments for other potentially fatal pulmonary disease processes such as adult respiratory distress syndrome.

Yuanlin Song, MD, at the University of California, San Francisco, is examining the role of airway humidity in maintaining normal lung function, which could prove useful for developing new therapies for asthma and cystic fibrosis.

Modjeh Talebian, MD, at the University of California, Davis, is investigating how a specific gene regulates cells that line the airways to better understand the pathology underlying lung diseases and assist in the future development of new treatments.

Philip Thai, MD, at the University of California, Davis, is examining how mucus is secreted into the airways and the role of a specific gene so that more targeted therapies aimed at reducing mucous production can be developed.

Claire Vivo, Ph.D., at the University of California, San Francisco, is investigating a method for killing off cells in lung cancer tumors that are highly resistant to chemotherapy so that eventually more effective ways of treating these tumors can be developed.

Jan Walstrom, MD, Ph.D., at Stanford University, is studying cells that control the immune response and inflammation to better understand why some people develop an allergic reaction to certain inhaled allergens to further the development of specific therapies to control and maybe even cure asthma.

Pulmonary Nurse Fellowships were awarded to Karen Clayton, BSN, MSN, at the University of San Diego, and to Christine Garvey, BSN, MPA, at the Holy Names College in Oakland.