New York’s Growing Impact on Lung Health Research Highlighted by 8 New Lung Association Grants

Today, the American Lung Association announced that it awarded 8 different research grants to researchers in the City of New York. These grants will fund cutting-edge studies on a range of critical topics, including asthma, tuberculosis, pulmonary fibrosis, COPD, respiratory viruses, COVID-19, lung cancer, and more. The awarded researchers hail from prestigious institutions across the metro area, such as Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Columbia University, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

In total, the American Lung Association Research Institute announced a $22 million research investment in the past year, 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 lung cancer, COVID-19 and much more,” said Emily Amitin, Director of Development at the Lung Association in New York. “Here in New York, lung research is critical because 2.88 million residents are living with lung disease. We are honored to welcome our New York researchers to join the elite American Lung Association Research Institute team.”

The researchers and their projects include:

• Ana S. Gonzalez-Reiche, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Research Disease: COVID-19 and Respiratory Viruses; Awarded Amount: $100,000 per year, for up to two years
• Brent Stockwell, PhD, Columbia University; Research Disease: Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and COVID-19; Awarded Amount: $100,000 per year, for up to two years
• Jaymin Kathiriya, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Research Disease: Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Interstitial Lung Disease and Pulmonary Fibrosis; Awarded Amount: $75,000 per year, for up to two years
• Michael J. Podolsky, MD, Weill Medical College of Cornell University; Research Disease: Interstitial Lung Disease and Pulmonary Fibrosis; Awarded Amount: $75,000 per year, for up to two years
• Alison May, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Research Disease: Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Cystic Fibrosis; Awarded Amount: $75,000 per year, for up to two years
• Yuefeng Huang, PhD, Columbia University; Research Disease: Asthma; Awarded Amount: $75,000 per year, for up to two years
• Etay Ziv, MD, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Research Disease: Lung Cancer; Awarded Amount: $100,000 per year, for up to two years
• Joseph Minhow Chan, MD, PhD Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Research Disease: Lung Cancer; Awarded Amount: $100,000 per year, for up to two years

Additional information, interviews and headshots are available by request. Please reach out to Jennifer Solomon at [email protected].

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.