The University of Texas Health Center at Tyler has received a $7.8 million
grant to study lung scarring, officials announced Thursday.
The five-year grant will allow researchers to study how to prevent lung
scarring, which causes lung tissue to thicken, interfering with the lungs'
ability to transfer oxygen to the blood system.
About 40,000 Americans die from lung scarring each year, according to
health center information.
A team of scientists will investigate how the cells lining the lungs and
airways contribute to lung scarring and will test ways to prevent it.
Research done at UTHCT with this grant money could eventually lead to
clinical trials on drugs and treatments that would cure pulmonary fibrosis,
emphysema, asthma and cystic fibrosis.
The competitive grant from the National Institutes of Health is the largest
government-funded research grant UTHCT has ever received, said President
Dr. Kirk Calhoun.
"We are so proud that the NIH recognizes and supports this important area
of research and recognizes scientists at UTHCT in lead in this field of
study," he said.
UTHCT was one of 267 U.S. sites awarded a Program Project Grant.
"Tyler went head-to-head with the best in the country and got $7.8 million
out of it," said Mark Yudof, chancellor of The University of Texas System.
"I think it's a giant symbol that the research program is really thriving."
Yudof was in attendance at the health center's fundraiser gala on Thursday
night for UTHCT's Texas Lung Injury Institute, an entity dedicated to
research on lung diseases. More than 800 people attended the dinner and
dance, and all proceeds were donated to the institute.
Yudof said the grant is not only good for the institution, but beneficial
for Tyler because federal tax dollars will be poured back into the
community.
This grant puts UTHCT on the map, and makes it possible for the hospital to
receive similar grants in the future, said Dr. Steven Idell, the health
center's vice president for research and the director and principal
investigator of the grant.
Calhoun added that the grant shows that UTHCT research is respected
nationally and is at the forefront of medicine.
The grant will bring together a multitude of researchers with a variety of
backgrounds to study the lung, said Doug Cines, vice chairman of the
pathology department at the University of Pennsylvania and a principal
investigator.
Symptoms of lung scarring include shortness of breath, chronic cough and
fatigue. Known causes of scarring include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus,
inhaled pollutants and certain medications. An unknown cause of scarring is
called idiopathic lung fibrosis.
As of now, there are no effective treatments to stop lung scarring and
scars will continue to develop until a patient received a lung transplant
or is placed on an oxygen tank.
Rhiannon Meyers covers Wood county, higher education, and medical. She can
be reached at 903.596. 6283. e-mail: news@tylerpaper.com
©Tyler Morning Telegraph 2005
grant to study lung scarring, officials announced Thursday.
The five-year grant will allow researchers to study how to prevent lung
scarring, which causes lung tissue to thicken, interfering with the lungs'
ability to transfer oxygen to the blood system.
About 40,000 Americans die from lung scarring each year, according to
health center information.
A team of scientists will investigate how the cells lining the lungs and
airways contribute to lung scarring and will test ways to prevent it.
Research done at UTHCT with this grant money could eventually lead to
clinical trials on drugs and treatments that would cure pulmonary fibrosis,
emphysema, asthma and cystic fibrosis.
The competitive grant from the National Institutes of Health is the largest
government-funded research grant UTHCT has ever received, said President
Dr. Kirk Calhoun.
"We are so proud that the NIH recognizes and supports this important area
of research and recognizes scientists at UTHCT in lead in this field of
study," he said.
UTHCT was one of 267 U.S. sites awarded a Program Project Grant.
"Tyler went head-to-head with the best in the country and got $7.8 million
out of it," said Mark Yudof, chancellor of The University of Texas System.
"I think it's a giant symbol that the research program is really thriving."
Yudof was in attendance at the health center's fundraiser gala on Thursday
night for UTHCT's Texas Lung Injury Institute, an entity dedicated to
research on lung diseases. More than 800 people attended the dinner and
dance, and all proceeds were donated to the institute.
Yudof said the grant is not only good for the institution, but beneficial
for Tyler because federal tax dollars will be poured back into the
community.
This grant puts UTHCT on the map, and makes it possible for the hospital to
receive similar grants in the future, said Dr. Steven Idell, the health
center's vice president for research and the director and principal
investigator of the grant.
Calhoun added that the grant shows that UTHCT research is respected
nationally and is at the forefront of medicine.
The grant will bring together a multitude of researchers with a variety of
backgrounds to study the lung, said Doug Cines, vice chairman of the
pathology department at the University of Pennsylvania and a principal
investigator.
Symptoms of lung scarring include shortness of breath, chronic cough and
fatigue. Known causes of scarring include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus,
inhaled pollutants and certain medications. An unknown cause of scarring is
called idiopathic lung fibrosis.
As of now, there are no effective treatments to stop lung scarring and
scars will continue to develop until a patient received a lung transplant
or is placed on an oxygen tank.
Rhiannon Meyers covers Wood county, higher education, and medical. She can
be reached at 903.596. 6283. e-mail: news@tylerpaper.com
©Tyler Morning Telegraph 2005