Grant Recipients Advancing Chest Medicine
By: Lauren Hughes
April 26, 2018
Thank you for all you do to champion lung health! Your donation supports projects, such as grant funding, which are boosting patient outcomes, improving community health, and advancing the research that continues to enhance the journey for those facing pulmonary illnesses. Please consider continuing your support with a gift today!
Improving Children’s Respiratory Health in Urban Areas
Kids in urban settings are disproportionately affected by asthma. Although we know that being active is good for respiratory health, in an urban setting, children may be breathing in more pollutants. In inner city neighborhoods playgrounds are often next to major highways or industrial areas. These recreational areas may be increasing the risk of developing pulmonary diseases. This is a prime example of why researchers like Dr. Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir are working to find a solution to champion lung health.
Dr. Lovinsky-Desir is a pediatric pulmonologist based at Columbia University and the recipient of the CHEST Diversity and Young Investigator Award in 2014 for her project on Urban Tree Canopy Exposure, DNA Methylation, and Allergies in Pediatric Asthma. The grant helped launch her into the research that she is most passionate about—asthma and health disparities in urban populations. As Stephanie can attest, junior faculty often struggle to find funding for their research. The findings she concluded from her CHEST diversity grant research allowed her to modify her study, win further funding, and receive a very competitive score from her NIH K award.
“A lot of people can’t take the risk to pursue higher-risk careers like research, because they don’t have seed funding that allows them to dive into bigger awards or research grants.” She believes the CHEST Foundation award jump started her research career. “Much of my success in getting grant funding is because I was awarded grants in the past! Once you start getting them and conducting research that produces meaningful results, you keep getting more, and it really starts to snowball. The CHEST Foundation award was the first award I as a Principal Investigator—my idea, my metrics. I feel so proud to have accomplished this.”
You Make These Outcomes Possible
Thank you for making important research like this possible. Your generosity is the catalyst for change in a world where lung diseases are ranking as one of the top causes of death for men and women everywhere. You’re improving patient outcomes every day, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Your continued support will make it possible for the next generation of researchers to launch their careers. You can be a Champion for Lung Health and DONATE today through a new gift to the CHEST Foundation. We can meet our goals for the health professionals, patients, and caregivers we serve with your much appreciated and essential support.
Again, thank you for all you do to improve patient outcomes. You are the lung health champions that patients and families count on to positively impact lung health. Donate today by going to chestfoundation.org/donate or contact Angela Perillo, Director of Development & Foundation Operations, 224/521-9520, to discuss your giving options.
Photo by Jorg Meyer