Lung Association Awards Two Illinois Researchers Grants to Study New Treatments for Lung Disease

Two Chicago doctors have been awarded grants from the American Lung Association Research Institute for their research projects. Sergejs Berdnikovs, PhD from Northwestern University-Chicago was awarded the Emerging Respiratory Pathogen Award and Nan Sethakorn, PhD from Loyola University of Chicago was awarded the Lung Cancer Discovery Award.

Dr. Berdnikovs’ project aims to understand how the metabolic conditions of people with type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome affect the body’s response to severe viral infections such as coronavirus by exploring metabolic dysregulation in airway epithelial cells. His team hopes the findings will help to improve preparedness for future pandemics

Dr. Sethakorn’s project focuses on developing targeted therapies for certain types of lung cancer. His team will recreate the bone environment and try to identify factors that promote lung cancer growth in bone, plus test new treatments to combat it. They also aim to identify markers in the blood that show which patients are at risk for bone metastasis before it can be detected on routine scans. The results would then be used in future clinical trials to see if patients benefit from early treatment.

In the past year, the American Lung Association Research Institute has announced a total research investment of $22 million, making it one of the largest programs in the country focused on lung health. The Lung Association funded 139 research grants, including the Airways Clinical Research Centers (ACRC), and strategic research partnerships focused on finding ways to identify, treat and cure lung disease.

“In 2024, the American Lung Association is celebrating 120 years of funding lifesaving research. Lung Association researchers have achieved major milestones, including helping end the devastation of tuberculosis in this country, saving millions of lives of premature babies with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), supporting research on COVID-19 and much more,” said Danielle Trojanek, executive director at the Lung Association. “Here in Illinois, lung research is critical because more than 1.5 million residents are living with lung disease. We are honored to welcome Dr. Berdnikovs and Dr. Sethakorn to the elite American Lung Association Research Institute team.”

Awards were given different categories addressing many aspects of lung disease; American Lung Association/AAAAI Allergic Respiratory Diseases Award, American Lung Association/ATS/CHEST Foundation Respiratory Health Equity Research Award, Catalyst Award, Emerging Respiratory Diseases (formerly, COVID-19 Respiratory Virus Research Award), Public Health & Public Policy Research Award, Hastings Innovation Award for Interstitial Lung Disease, Dalsemer Interstitial Lung Disease Award, Innovation Award, and the Lung Cancer Discovery Award.

Research projects funded by the Lung Association are carefully selected through rigorous scientific peer review and awardees represent the investigation of a wide range of complex issues related to lung health.

The Lung Association is currently accepting applications for its 2025-2026 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.

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