Mark Dransfield, right, and colleagues perform a lung procedure at UAB.The University of Alabama at Birmingham Lung Health Center, in partnership with Children’s of Alabama, has joined the American Lung Association Airways Clinical Research Centers network. ACRC conducts nationwide clinical trials to provide vital information about caring for people who have asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The ACRC network is a key component of the American Lung Association research team and is the nation’s largest not-for-profit network of clinical research centers dedicated to asthma and COPD treatment research. Consisting of 17 clinical research centers across the country, and a data-coordinating center managed by a team at Johns Hopkins University, the ACRC network conducts large clinical trials that directly impact patient care for those living with COPD and asthma.
“The Airways Clinical Research Centers network attracts some of the best investigators nationwide, and by adding significantly to the expertise of the ACRC network, we will advance research to improve the quality of life for those living with both COPD and asthma,” said Harold P. Wimmer, national president and CEO of the American Lung Association.
The UAB Lung Health Center is housed in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, part of the Department of Medicine in the UAB School of Medicine. Under the leadership of medical director Mark Dransfield, M.D., and scientific director J. Edwin Blalock, Ph.D., the LHC conducts numerous clinical trials and basic science studies focusing on airway disease.
“We’re excited to be joining the ACRC network and strengthening the collaborative efforts between UAB and other leading research institutions,” said Dransfield, associate professor in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine. “We are committed to performing research that will benefit our patients and community, as well as furthering knowledge about mechanisms, therapies and behaviors that impact lung disease and its care.”
“It’s vital for those suffering from lung disease to have access to the best treatment options available, including the estimated 357,000 asthma patients and 380,000 COPD patients living in Alabama,” said Martha Bodgan, chief executive officer for the American Lung Association of the Southeast. “Through the Airways Clinical Research Centers network, we can participate and coordinate with large clinical trials that directly impact patient care. The American Lung Association is proud to partner with the University of Alabama at Birmingham to advance research and improve the quality of life for those living with asthma and COPD.”
The ACRC network conducts large clinical trials that directly impact patient care for those living with COPD and asthma.Along with UAB, the other new centers added to the network are:
- University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif.
- University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.
- Temple University Health System, Lung Center, Philadelphia, Pa.
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Through the ACRC network, clinical trials around the country are currently in progress and at various stages of completion. The outcomes of these studies will help shape the nature of care for people with asthma and COPD.
Many of the current centers in the network have extended their relationships with other hospitals’ academic and research institutions, further expanding the reach and impact of the network.
The ACRC network, formerly known as the Asthma Clinical Research Centers, was originally focused on asthma. In 2015, the network expanded its research scope to include COPD, the third-leading cause of death in the United States. It is part of the larger American Lung Association Research Team, conducting research on lung disease nationwide.