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UI cystic fibrosis researchers receive $11.5 million NIH grant to develop new therapies

by Jennifer Brown, Carver College of Medicine

A team of cystic fibrosis experts with University of Iowa Health Care has been awarded a five-year, $11.5 million grant by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to research molecular therapies for cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease.

CF is caused by multiple gene mutations, all of which damage an important ion channel protein called cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). With the new grant, the UI scientists led by Paul McCray, MD, Michael Welsh, MD, and John Engelhardt, PhD, will focus on developing new molecular therapies, including gene repair and small molecule drugs, that can treat CF and improve outcomes for patients regardless of the exact genetic mutation causing the disease.

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