The Simpson Querrey Lung Institute for Translational Science (SQLIFTS) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is developing innovative therapies to treat patients with lung disease as well as a range of other diseases. Explore our research specializations to see what sets us apart from other lung institutes.
SQLIFTS investigators are collaborating on a project to understand why age is the single most important risk factor for the development of acute and chronic lung diseases. Funded through a substantial, collaborative grant from the National Institute on Aging, our investigators seek to identify therapies that target fundamental pathways of aging to improve lung health. This project is led by institute director Scott Budinger, MD.
What if we could make the lung regenerate after injury? A large collaborative grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute led by SQLIFTS investigators seeks to identify pathways that can be targeted to promote lung repair after viral pneumonia. This project is led by Karen Ridge, PhD.
Pneumonia is one of the leading causes of death from infectious disease worldwide. Richard Wunderink, MD, in SQLIFTS leads a collaborative project called the Successful Clinical Response in Pneumonia Therapy (SCRIPT) Systems Biology Center to understand why pneumonia therapies fail in some individuals and how we can improve survival.
Ankit Bharat, MD, leads a multi-investigator project in SQLIFTS to understand why all lung transplant recipients eventually reject their lungs. This multidisciplinary program is strongly rooted in the Northwestern Medicine Lung Transplant Program, known for its clinical innovation in developing lung transplant as a salvage therapy for COVID-19 and lung cancer.
Ravi Kalhan, MD, MS, leads a human observational research program focused on lifecourse transitions from respiratory health to chronic lung disease (the 4th leading cause of death in the United States). Central to this work is a framework that attempts to identify the components of ideal respiratory health, and in doing so, shifts the focus of the respiratory community from secondary to primary prevention of chronic lung diseases such as COPD and interstitial lung diseases. In partnership with the American Lung Association, the Lung Health Cohort is the first-ever large-scale lung health study that will track 4,000 young adults (aged 25-35) at the age of peak lung health to identify predictors of a loss of lung function later in life.
Through our selected publications, learn more about key findings from SQLIFTS, including discoveries related to COVID-19, lung cancer and healthcare disparities.
The T32 grant offered through the Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care supports research in cellular and molecular pathophysiology of lung disease and the translation of these findings to the bedside.
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