Lung Association Awards Two Kansas Researchers Grants to Study New Treatments for Lung Disease

Two University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute, Inc. doctors have been awarded grants from the American Lung Association Research Institute for their research projects. Scott Matson, MD was awarded the Dalsemer Interstitial Lung Disease Award and Navneet Dhillon, PhD was awarded the Emerging Respiratory Pathogen Award.

Dr. Matson’s project focuses on identifying metabolic changes in early-stage pulmonary fibrosis. His team plans to study more than 7,000 subjects to study metabolomic changes associated with CT scan patterns used to identify early forms of pulmonary fibrosis. Their goal is to identify important markers and pathways associated with pulmonary fibrosis risk.

Dr. Dhillon’s project aims to distinguish long COVID-19 patients through proteins of circulating extracellular vesicles (EVs). Extracellular vesicles are tiny, membrane-bound particles released from various cells that may act as communicators between cells and organs. Studies have shown that the increased presence of EVs in blood in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection may help identify the severity of COVID-19 illness. Dr. Dhillon’s team will study whether patients with long-term COVID-19 might be distinguished from fully recovered individuals based on circulating EVs and whether this is related to the development of chronic respiratory problems after COVID-19 disease.

In the past year, the American Lung Association Research Institute has announced a total research investment of $22 million, making it one of the largest programs in the country focused on lung health. The Lung Association funded 139 research grants, including the Airways Clinical Research Centers (ACRC), and strategic research partnerships focused on finding ways to identify, treat and cure lung disease.

“In 2024, the American Lung Association is celebrating 120 years of funding lifesaving research. Lung Association researchers have achieved major milestones, including helping end the devastation of tuberculosis in this country, saving millions of lives of premature babies with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), supporting research on COVID-19 and much more,” said Linda Crider, Executive Director at the Lung Association. “Lung research is critical because some 467,000 people in Kansas and more than one million Missourians are living with lung disease. We are honored to welcome Dr. Matson and Dr. Dhillon to the elite American Lung Association Research Institute team.”

Awards were given different categories addressing many aspects of lung disease; American Lung Association/AAAAI Allergic Respiratory Diseases Award, American Lung Association/ATS/CHEST Foundation Respiratory Health Equity Research Award, Catalyst Award, Emerging Respiratory Diseases (formerly, COVID-19 Respiratory Virus Research Award), Public Health & Public Policy Research Award, Hastings Innovation Award for Interstitial Lung Disease, Dalsemer Interstitial Lung Disease Award, Innovation Award, and the Lung Cancer Discovery Award.

Research projects funded by the Lung Association are carefully selected through rigorous scientific peer review and awardees represent the investigation of a wide range of complex issues related to lung health.

The Lung Association is currently accepting applications for its 2025-2026 research awards and grants cycle. For more information about the active research funding opportunities, visit Lung.org/awards. For more information about the new grant awardees and the entire American Lung Association Research Team, visit Lung.org/research-team.

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