Lung disease may be the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, but it receives hundreds of millions of dollars less in research funding compared to other leading causes of death.
Respiratory Health Association (RHA) is committed to closing this gap and supporting research to explore new and innovative treatments. For many of our researchers, these awards come at a critical point. Our funding can help springboard their research, publish findings and secure additional funding.
Dr. Anna Lam, Northwestern University, was at this critical period in her research in 2016 when RHA awarded her an Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) Research award.
At the time of her award, Dr. Lam’s research was in an exciting but early phase and might have paused without RHA. In order to further her research into new and innovative treatments for IPF, a devastating disease that causes scarring of the lung tissue leading to respiratory failure, Dr. Lam needed to acquire more data that supported her compelling project.
Dr. Anna Lam from Northwestern University Medicine
“RHA’s [award] allowed me to continue to work on my research during a critical period.”- Dr. Anna Lam, Northwestern University Medicine
Since receiving the award in 2016, Dr. Lam has received two National Institute of Health grants and a pharmaceutical partnership to continue her research for IPF. Overall, Dr. Lam has received over $3.7 million in research money since RHA’s award provided her with the ability to continue her research.
Dr. Lam’s research, in addition to the work of her colleagues, has changed the dialogue around IPF. In the past decade, new treatments and potential therapeutics have popped up and Dr. Lam is “cautiously optimistic for what the future may hold for [patients].”
Dr. Lam is only one of countless lung disease researchers who needed our help to continue the search for new innovative treatments and potential cures. For every Dr. Lam, there were dozens of other researchers RHA was unable to fund. One of these researchers could have been on the brink of discovering an early detection procedure for COPD or a new less invasive treatment for lung cancer. The tragedy is that we may never know.
RHA is working to provide more funding for new and innovative researchers, furthering the field. Together, we hope to find new treatments and cures to help patients breathe easier.
Join RHA in making an investment in health and our future by making a gift to RHA’s research program.