Respiratory Health Association is committed to funding lung cancer research. RHA considers its role in research and its contribution to respiratory disease science and treatment to be vital in advancing respiratory health in metropolitan Chicago, Illinois, and across the United States.
RHA has funded numerous research projects related to lung cancer, a selection of which are summarized below.
Recently-funded Lung Cancer Research Projects
Navdeep Chandel, MD
Northwestern University
Funded by: Lung Cancer Promise of Tomorrow Award*
Dr. Chandel’s research involves adenocarcinoma, a type of non-small cell lung cancer that is increasingly affecting nonsmokers. Adenocarcinoma accounts for 30% of non-small cell lung cancer cases. Dr. Chandel is looking at a novel cellular signaling system that may lead to the development of adenocarcinoma. Understanding how this signaling system works in the cells may eventually lead to the development of new therapies to treat and prevent adenocarcinoma.
*Funding provided by LUNGevity Foundation, Respiratory Health Association, Arkansas Respiratory Health Association, Breathe California of the Bay Area, Breathe California of Los Angeles County and Breathe New Hampshire.
Ravi Salgia, MD, PhD
University of Chicago
Funded by: Chicago Lung Run, Respiratory Health Association
Dr. Salgia and his colleagues at University of Chicago are studying features of lung cancer gene cells to determine variants and methods to detect those variants. The ultimate goal is to correlate responses to drug therapy.
Funded by: Chicago Lung Run, Respiratory Health Association
Adenocarcinoma is a type of non-small cell lung cancer, and is the most common type of lung cancer in nonsmokers. Dr. Salgia’s research involves studying the biomarkers in tumors and blood of women who smoke and women who don’t smoke with adenocarcinoma. This highly innovative research will provide findings that may be helpful in developing a blood test for adenocarcinoma in women, as well as provide some insight into the genes that may involved.
Jordi Tauler, PhD
University of Illinois at Chicago
Funded by: Chicago Lung Run, Respiratory Health Association
Dr. Tauler is identifying mutations that drive cancer development and investigating the genes that these mutations affect, including myosin light chain kinase (MYLK), the pseudogene MYLKP1 and heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A2/B1 (hnRNP A2/B1). By studying cells found in lung tumors, he hopes to learn more about how cells mutate to form non-small cell lung cancer tumors.