Seattle Researcher Awarded American Lung Association Grant to Study Tuberculosis

Today, the American Lung Association Research Institute announced it awarded $13.6 million in research grants to fund 129 innovative projects to advance today’s science to end lung disease tomorrow, including a project in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Karolina Maciag from University of Washington was awarded the Catalyst Award to study tuberculosis pathways to better understand potential approaches to prevention.

Lung research is critical because 953,000 in Washington are living with lung disease and each year, millions of people are impacted by respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and influenza. Through the Awards and Grants Program, the Lung Association supports trailblazing research, novel ideas and innovative approaches. The funded researchers investigate a wide range of lung health topics, including asthma, COPD, lung cancer, infectious lung diseases and more.

“We are honored to welcome Dr. Karolina Maciag to the elite American Lung Association Research Institute and our efforts to fundamentally transform lung health here in Washington and across the nation,” said Season Oltmann, Executive Director of the American Lung Association in Washington. “Our research investment is key to unlocking solutions to alleviate the burden of lung disease. The Lung Association’s Awards and Grants Program promotes innovative research, collaboration, translation of discoveries and scientific exchange to transform today’s science into tomorrow’s solutions. Because when you can’t breathe, nothing else matters.”

Dr. Maciag will lead the team to research and better understand the tuberculosis (TB) pathways in hopes of generating a more complete understanding of tuberculosis. Utilizing cross-species trials, the team will note genes and pathways that can potentially change the way we approach TB.

This year, awards were given in different categories addressing many aspects of lung disease; ALA/AAAAI Allergic Respiratory Diseases Award, ALA/ATS/CHEST Foundation Respiratory Health Equity Research Award, Catalyst Award, COVID-19 Respiratory Virus Research Award, Dalsemer Award, Innovation Award and Lung Cancer Discovery Award. Research projects funded by the Lung Association are carefully selected through rigorous scientific peer review and awardees investigate a wide range of complex issues.

The Lung Association’s Research Institute includes the Awards and Grants program, and also the Airways Clinical Research Network, the nation's largest not-for-profit network of clinical research centers dedicated to asthma and COPD research. The Lung Association is currently accepting applications for its 2024-2025 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.

Media Resources

• Media b-roll is available here: Broll: ALA Research Team.mp4 | Powered by Box
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