$5M grant to support research in cystic fibrosis lung transplants
Cleveland Clinic to continue work for Cystic Fibrosis Lung Transplant Consortium
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) has awarded $5 million to the Cleveland Clinic to continue as the biorepository coordinating center for the Cystic Fibrosis Lung Transplant Consortium until 2030, supporting research and other efforts to improve lung transplant outcomes.
Created in 2017, the consortium has established a network of 15 institutions that provide specialized expertise, clinical data, and biological samples to accelerate research into the causes and treatments for chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD), a major complications of lung transplants, in cystic fibrosis (CF).
Besides collecting and maintaining data and biological samples at key milestones after transplant, the funding will enable the expansion of research goals and updates to program objectives. During this study, all data are linked to the Cystic Fibrosis Lung Transplant Consortium registry.
“This funding will allow Cleveland Clinic to build on the successful work of the past five years leading the Cystic Fibrosis Lung Transplant Consortium’s efforts to study the causes and treatment of CLAD,” Maryam Valapour, MD, the Cleveland Clinic’s director of Lung Transplant Outcomes, said in a press release. “Our hope is that, through this initiative, we can improve long-term outcomes after lung transplant, a critical treatment option for those with advanced lung disease.”
Improving lung transplant outcomes
A lung transplant remains a treatment option for CF patients with advanced lung disease but long-term outcomes remain challenging, mainly due to CLAD, which occurs when a transplant is rejected. Characterized by persistent lung function decline, CLAD is the primary cause of lung failure and mortality after transplant.
As the coordination center, the Cleveland Clinic provides infrastructure for research.
“We are proud to serve as the hub of the Cystic Fibrosis Lung Transplant Consortium, and be part of a clinical and translational research network that brings together 15 lung transplant centers across the United States and Canada,” said Suzy Comhair, PhD, scientific director of Cleveland Clinic’s biorepository. “This multi-institutional team is collaborating closely to advance our understanding of CLAD and develop new therapies that will enhance patient outcomes.”
The consortium also seeks to improve lung transplant outcomes by developing guidelines and promoting discussion about best practices, while also enabling interactions between CF and lung transplant specialists to improve care for people with CF with advanced lung disease. The consortium has created a post-transplant care checklist that features what constitutes high-quality care for transplant recipients.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, differences in selecting candidates for transplant and in care after a transplant warrant identifying best practices to improve access and patient outcomes.
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