The American Lung Association Nationwide Research Program recently released its Research Awards Nationwide 2011-2012 report, highlighting research supported by the Lung Association through its Asthma Clinical Research Centers (ACRC) and its Awards and Grants Program.

The Nationwide Research Program funds high quality research aimed at uncovering effective prevention and treatments, as well as cures, for lung disease. The program supports basic, applied, and socio-behavioral research related to lung health.

“These grants play a critical role in attracting and retaining talented scientists who are invested in improving the lung health of more than 37 million people living with chronic lung diseases,” said Norman H. Edelman, MD, the association’s chief medical officer.

In 2011-2012, the American Lung Association is providing more than $5 million to support approximately 90 lung disease research projects. Among the 2011-2012 funded research are studies aimed at finding the first signs of lung cancer in the blood; assessing why leukotriene-modifying drugs help only some with asthma; and uncovering molecular strategies to treat excessive lung scarring.

Previous research led to the identification of the role of PUMA, a novel controller of apoptosis, in treating lung cancer. Apoptosis is the normal bodily process of killing abnormal cells and when halted, uncontrolled cell growth and tumor formation may occur. That research led to the development of a new screening method to determine which anti-cancer agents could induce PUMA.

The Research Awards Nationwide 2011-2012 report is available and searchable on the American Lung Association Website.

Source: American Lung Association