Pulmonary Hypertension Association grant recipients will discuss their research projects in the next PHA Live webinar. Join us Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m. EST/6 p.m. UTC, for “PHA Research: Spotlight on Innovative Projects in PH.”
The projects help expand understanding of pulmonary hypertension and could lead to new treatments. Learn about the research projects, the researchers’ progress and potential impact of the research. Meet the speakers:
Ke Yuan
Yuan’s research team is the first to study how pericytes, a cell found on tiny capillaries critical to blood vessel structure, affect pulmonary arterial hypertension. Pericytes regulate blood flow and structural changes in blood vessels. Changes in the structure of pulmonary arteries can restrict blood flow, causing PAH.
Yuan and her team are examining why the structural changes occur and how pericytes affect the disease process. Their goal is to restore pericytes to their normal function, ideally through treatments that target biological pathways different from those targeted by existing medications. From there, her team believes they can stop, reverse or even prevent PAH at its earliest stages. Yuan, who received a PHA Innovation in Research Award in 2023, is an assistant professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Adam Andruska
Andruska’s research aims to investigate T-cell signaling as a therapeutic for PAH. In PAH, cells block the lung blood vessels and cause progressive heart failure. Inflammatory white blood cells known as T-cells surround the blood vessels as these blockages occur. Studies have shown that sub-types of T-cells can harm and protect lung blood vessels in PAH.
Andruska is investigating which signals sent from T-cells cause blockages in the blood vessels of the lungs. He aims to deepen understanding of the immune system’s role in PAH development and identify cell signals that can be blocked to slow or reverse PAH development. Andruska, who received a PHA Innovation in Research Award in 2023, is an instructor at Stanford School of Medicine’s Pulmonary, Allergy & Critical Care Medicine division.
Roopa Siddaiah
Siddaiah studies biomarkers that differentiate premature infants with PH from those with other lung diseases. Premature infants are at high risk of developing chronic lung disease or bronchopulmonary dysplasia because of incompletely developed lung tissue. PH is a severe complication of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. The biomarkers could be used to screen for PH, leading to earlier diagnosis.
In 2022, Siddaiah’s team identified a key marker called micro-RNA-29a, which plays a crucial role in the inflammatory process and regulating development of new blood vessels. Her team has started to study micro-RNA’s impact on endothelial cells, which line blood vessels and control blood flow. Dysfunctional endothelial cells can lead to high blood pressure and cardiac stress, which can cause PH.
Identifying these markers in high-risk infants would allow early intervention such as optimal ventilation, oxygen goals and fluid management to help improve their trajectory. Siddaiah, assistant professor of pediatric pulmonology at Penn State College of Medicine, received the PHA Early Career Mentored Scientist Award in 2023.
Csaba Galambos
Galambos seeks to understand lung vascular development to identify new strategies for earlier diagnosis, prevention and potential cures for infants and children with pulmonary disease and PH.
Galambos’ research focuses on why PH develops. He is studying the role of microscopic vessels that support large lung arteries and airways. He hopes his findings will improve understanding of lung blood vessel problems caused by genetic imbalance in people with PH. Galambos, who received the PHA Innovation in Research Award in 2022, is director of pediatric pulmonary research at Children’s Hospital Colorado.
Don’t miss the opportunity to hear about research projects funded by PHA grants. Register for the webinar.
