The ATS Foundation is pleased to announce the grant and award recipients for the 2017 grant cycle. The support of our members, donors, and partners make these awards possible—thank you!
These grants and awards provide crucial support for talented investigators from around the world, launching careers dedicated to scientific discovery and better patient care.
The awardees explore such diverse topics as lung cancer, asthma, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, COPD, sleep apnea, and more.
Partner Grants
The ATS Foundation partners with other nonprofit organizations and pharmaceutical companies to maximize the number of grants we can support. The ATS reviews all grants and assumes all costs associated with administrating the grants.
Nadine Al-Naamani, MD, MS
University of Pennsylvania
2017 The Aldrighetti Research Award for Young Investigators - $80,000
Effect of Obesity on Treatment Response in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
*Sponsorship for this award is provided by Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. through a partnership with the Pulmonary Hypertension Association
Ye Cui, MD, PhD
Brigham and Women's Hospital
2017 ATS Foundation/Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome Network Research Grant - $80,000
Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Trafficking in Lung Fibroblasts and Its Role in HPS Lung Fibrosis
Matthew G. Drake, MD
Oregon Health and Science University
2017 ATS Foundation/American Lung Association of the Mountain Pacific Research Grant - $100,000
Sensory Nerve Plasticity and P2X Receptor Expression in Chronic Cough
Vito Mennella, PhD
The Hospital for Sick Children
2017 ATS Foundation/Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD) Foundation Research Grant - $80,000
Development of Diagnostic Toolbox to Diagnose Complex PCD Cases
Jeremy E. Orr, MD
University of California, San Diego
2017 ATS Foundation/ResMed Research Fellowship in Noninvasive Ventilation in COPD - $100,000
Impact of Non-Invasive Ventilation on Cardiovascular Biomarkers in COPD
Andrew Sweatt, MD
Stanford University
2017 ATS Foundation/Pulmonary Hypertension Association Research Fellowship - $80,000
Deep Immunophenotyping in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension by Unsupervised Machine Learning
Alice M. Turner, MBCnB
University of Birmingham
2017 ATS Foundation/Alpha-1 Foundation Research Grant - $80,000
Improving Access to Augmentation Therapy in AATD: The Effect of Augmentation on Quality of Life
Deborah Winter, PhD
Northwestern University
2017 ATS Foundation/Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals Inc. Research Fellowship in Sarcoidosis - $80,000
Dissecting the Role of Lung Macrophages in Sarcoidosis Using Genomic Approaches
Susan Yount, PhD
Northwestern University
2017 ATS Foundation Tobacco-Dependence Research Fund Grant: For Research on Tobacco Dependence Mechanisms, Interventions, and Treatment - $100,000
Clinical validation of patient-centered outcomes measures in smokers with COPD
ATS Foundation Nursing Research Award - $10,000
The ATS Foundation Nursing Award is the first research award specifically for nurses. It provides support for licensed, register nurses who have completed a PhD and have research interests in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. This award was made possible through a generous donation from Leslie A. Hoffman, PhD.
Jennifer B. Seaman, PhD, RN
2017 ATS Foundation Nursing Research Award
The University of Pittsburgh
Development of a Nurse-led Intervention to Ensure Timely Interdisciplinary Family Meetings in ICU
ATS Foundation Unrestricted Research Grants - $40,000
The ATS Foundation funds unrestricted research grants representing the three pillars of the American Thoracic Society: pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. Awards 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.
Brian J. Anderson, MD, MSCE
University of Pennsylvania
2017 ATS Foundation
Unrestricted Grant: Critical Care
IDO Activation and Neurocognitive Outcomes in Sepsis
Sandeep Bodduluri, PhD
University of Alabama at Birmingham
2017 ATS Foundation
Unrestricted Grant: Pulmonary
Lung Mechanics in Active Smokers with and without COPD
Erin Crowley, MD
Indiana University
2017 ATS Foundation
Unrestricted Grant: Pulmonary
Development of a Social Complexity Risk Factor Scale
Joshua A. Englert, MD
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
2017 ATS Foundation
Unrestricted Grant: Critical Care
Zinc as a Novel Therapy to Prevent Ventilator Induced Lung Injury in ARDS
Robert B. Hamanaka, PhD
University of Chicago
2017 ATS Foundation
Unrestricted Grant: Pulmonary
Metabolic Regulation of Lung Fibrosis
Tetyana Kendzerska, MD, PhD
The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
2017 ATS Foundation
Unrestricted Grant: Sleep
Sleep Apnea and Cancer Development and Progression: Evidence from Clinical and Administrative Data
Meeta Kerlin, MD
University of Pennsylvania
2017 ATS Foundation
Unrestricted Grant: Critical Care
The Role of Behavioral Economic Interventions to Promote Utilization of Lung Protective Ventilation
Peggy Lai, MD, MPH
Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
2017 ATS Foundation
Unrestricted Grant: Pulmonary
Solar Lighting to Reduce Indoor Air Pollution in Rural Uganda
Chelsea M. Magin, PhD
University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus
2017 ATS Foundation
Unrestricted Grant: Pulmonary
Bio-inspired 3D Cell Culture Platforms for Improved Modeling of Lung Epithelium In Vitro
Omar Mesarwi, MD
University of California, San Diego
2017 ATS Foundation
Unrestricted Grant: Sleep
Mechanisms of Liver Fibrosis and Steatosis in Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Suzanne Pollard, PhD
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
2017 ATS Foundation
Unrestricted Grant: Pulmonary
Feasibility Trial of a Community Intervention to Improve Asthma Self-Management Practices in Peru
Thomas M. Raffay, MD
UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital/Case Western Reserve University
2017 ATS Foundation
Unrestricted Grant: Critical Care
S-Nitrosoglutathione-Based Therapy in a Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Model
Abdulghani Sankari, MD, PhD
Wayne State University
2017 ATS Foundation
Unrestricted Grant: Sleep
Animal Model of Sleep Disordered Breathing and Novel Therapeutic Targets
Peter D. Sottile, MD
University of Colorado
2017 ATS Foundation
Unrestricted Grant: Critical Care
The Association between Ventilator Dyssynchrony and Lung Injury
Hideo Watanabe, MD, PhD
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
2017 ATS Foundation
Unrestricted Grant: Pulmonary
Characterizing Novel Candidate Super-Enhancers for Lineage Factors in Lung Adenocarcinomas
Gareth R. Willis, PhD
Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School
2017 ATS Foundation
Unrestricted Grant: Pulmonary
Therapeutic Capacity of Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Exosomes in Models of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia
MECOR Research Awards - $5,000
ATS Foundation MECOR Research Awards provide funding for outstanding graduates of the ATS Methods in Epidemiological, Clinical, and Operational Research (MECOR) Program to allow them to transition from trainees to investigators. MECOR graduates hail from developing countries around the globe, including Africa, Latin America, China, India, Indonesia, Turkey, and Vietnam. Learn more about MECOR.
Ndubuisi Mokogwu, MPH, FWACP
University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Nigeria
2017 ATS Foundation MECOR Award - $5,000
Investigating the Use of a Portable Carbon Monoxide Exposure Monitor among Food Vendors in Benin
Huy Quang Nguyen, PhD
University of Science and Technology of Hanoi, Vietnam
2017 ATS Foundation MECOR Award - $5,000
Prevalence and Molecular Characteristics of Drug-Resistant M. Tuberculosis in ACF for Tuberculosis
Prabu Rajkumar, MD
ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology, India
2017 ATS Foundation MECOR Award - $5,000
Prevalence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Chennai, South India
Mihir Rupani, MD
Government Medical College Bhavnagar, India
2017 ATS Foundation MECOR Award - $5,000
Association of Catastrophic Costs on Failure to Complete Treatment Among Tuberculosis Patients
