Dr. Said Audi, professor in the Marquette and Medical College of Wisconsin Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, has been awarded a grant worth $558,000 from the National Institutes of Health to study acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Funding for “Experimental and Computational Investigation of NOX4-Dependent Mechanisms in ARDS Susceptibility” comes from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for two years of research.
“Acute respiratory distress syndrome accounts for 75,000 deaths, 3.6 million hospital days, and more than $5 billion in healthcare costs in the U.S. alone per year,” Audi said. “Even with everything we have learned about ARDS on the cellular level, patient outcomes remain unpredictable. Our objective is to assess the role that the cellular enzyme NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) plays in susceptibility to ARDS. With an improved understanding of ARDS, we will be able to investigate specific therapeutic targets to mitigate ARDS morbidity, mortality and financial burdens.”
ARDS treatment requires high levels of oxygen to be delivered to the lungs. Although this oxygen therapy can be lifesaving, high oxygen levels can also worsen lung injury in some patients. Audi and his research team will study NOX4, an enzyme that generates reactive oxygen species and may amplify oxidative stress as oxygen levels increase. They will combine experimental studies with computational modeling to better understand why some individuals are more susceptible to severe ARDS, identify NOX4-sensitive cellular pathways, and guide future development of targeted therapeutic strategies.
“This project represents precisely what innovative biomedical engineering research can offer society: deeper scientific understanding, improved patient care and discoveries that can change lives,” said Dr. Kristina Ropella, Opus Dean of the Opus College of Engineering. “I am inspired by Dr. Audi and his collaborators’ creativity to identify new treatments for a widespread syndrome that we do not yet fully understand.”
Audi’s co-investigators on this award are Dr. Anne Clough, chair and professor of mathematical and statistical sciences, and Dr. Ranjan Dash, professor of biomedical engineering. Significant contributors from MCW include Dr. Allen Cowley, Jr., professor, and Dr. Justin Grobe, professor, of physiology, and Dr. Kurt Hu, M.D., associate professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute provides global leadership for a research, training, and education program to promote the prevention and treatment of heart, lung, and blood disorders and enhance the health of all individuals so that they can live longer and more fulfilling lives. NHLBI is part of the National Institutes of Health, the principal medical research agency of the federal government and a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
