American Lung Association Awards Charlottesville Researcher Grant to Study COVID-19

Today, the American Lung Association in Virginia announced that it awarded In Su Cheon, PhD from the University of Virginia a $50,000 Catalyst grant, renewable for an additional year for a total of $100,000. Dr. Cheon will research how certain immune responses can lead to COVID-19 after viral pneumonia.  

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 COVID-19 and much more,” said Deb Brown, Chief Mission Officer at the Lung Association. “Here in Pennsylvania, lung research is critical because 1,312,000 residents are living with lung disease. We are honored to welcome Dr. In Su Cheon to join the elite American Lung Association Research Institute team.” 

Dr. Cheon’s (pictured left) research aims to understand how certain immune responses can lead to chronic lung conditions after viral pneumonia, like COVID-19. Dr. Cheon and others have identified a novel immune cell population, called CD4+ tissue-resident helper T cells, which stays in the lungs and helps fight off secondary viral infections. However, the role of these cells in maintaining lung health and in disease conditions is not fully understood and this research could significantly enhance the understanding of the cellular and molecular basis of chronic lung diseases after viral pneumonia and could lead to new ways to prevent or treat these conditions, especially in patients with “long COVID. 

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.