Lung Association Awards Iowa Researcher Grant to Study New Treatments for Lung Disease

An Iowa doctor has been awarded a grant from the American Lung Association Research Institute for his research project. Wenjie Yu, PhD at The University of Iowa was awarded the Catalyst Award.

Lung research is critical in Iowa because more than 448,000 residents are living with lung disease. The Lung Association is honored to welcome Dr. Yu to our elite American Lung Association Research Institute team.

His project will look at the link between enlarged airway glands and mucus abnormalities in chronic airway disease. People with chronic airway disease have a constant cough and difficulty breathing due to thick mucus produced by their enlarged airway glands. Dr. Yu will investigate the features of airway gland enlargement and how these features directly lead to abnormal thicker mucus. He hopes to better understand the disease-causing changes of airway glands in chronic diseases and that it will help lead to better treatment strategies.

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.

This year, 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.

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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