Studies
The Lung Transplant Consortium (LTC) is committed to improving outcomes for patients awaiting or undergoing lung transplantation through coordinated research studies conducted across a cooperative multi-site clinical research consortium comprised of 7 Clinical Centers (LTC-CCs) and a Data Coordinating Center (LTC-DCC).
CATCH: Creating Access to Transplant for Candidates who are High Risk
Globally, access to lung transplantation for high risk patients varies significantly due to a lack of consensus regarding their eligibility. This project will compare how different lung transplant centers manage these patients to develop new standard guidelines for their care that will allow more patients to receive a surgery that reduces their illnesses and saves their lives.
NIH RePorter Link: 1U01HL163298-01
LTC Clinical Center:
University Health Network Toronto, Canada
Principal Investigators:
Shaf Keshav,
Meghan Aversa
Participating Sites
University of Florida - Gainesville, USA
Columbia University - New York City,
USA Brigham and Women’s Hospital - Boston, USA
The Clinical and Molecular Impacts of Lung Primary Graft Dysfunction
Lung transplantation is a vital therapeutic option for select individuals with end-stage lung disease, however patient outcomes lag behind other solid organ transplants. The major early complication, primary graft dysfunction (PGD), is acute lung injury occurring in the first 3-days after transplant. This project will investigate the impact of severe PGD on major clinical outcomes and airway inflammation in the first-year after transplant.
NIH RePorter Link: 1U01HL163294-01
LTC Clinical Center:
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA
Principal Investigators:
John McDyer,
John Greenland,
Christian Merlo
Participating Sites
University of California - San Francisco, USA
Johns Hopkins University - Baltimore, USA
Lung transplant recipient exosome phenotypes and the risk of primary graft dysfunction and acute lung allograft dysfunction
Exosome-based research in the field of lung transplantation is a rapidly growing area and understanding their role in clinical outcomes, such as primary graft dysfunction (PGD) and acute cellular rejection (ACR), could lead to the identification of potential prognostic biomarkers for risk-stratification that could be used clinically to better select recipients and match them with donors leading to improved patient outcomes and better guidance on alterations in immunosuppressive management. This project represents the first step towards precision donor/recipient endotyping allowing for the development of novel, targeted therapeutic interventions.
NIH RePorter Link: 1U01HL162966-01
LTC Clinical Center:
University of Washington, Seattle, USA
Principal Investigators:
Michael Mulligan,
Farhood Farjah
Participating Sites
University of Wisconsin - Madison, USA
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, USA
Vaccination responses in lung transplant recipients
Lung transplantation is a life-saving cure but is limited by graft failure. Although vaccination is the most effective way for preventing infections, vaccine efficacy is limited in immunocompromised solid organ transplant recipients. This project will focus on understanding why lung transplant recipients respond poorly to vaccinations so that better life-preserving vaccines can be designed.
NIH RePorter Link: 1U01HL163124-01
LTC Clinical Center:
Stanford University, Stanford, USA
Principal Investigators:
Mark Nicolls,
Gundeep Dhillon,
Bali Pulendran
Participating Sites
Houston Methodist Hospital - Houston, USA
Inova Fairfax Hospital - Annandale, USA
The impact of body composition on peri-operative and patient-centered outcomes in lung transplantation
Lung transplantation aims to extend survival, relieve disability, and improve health-related quality of life (HRQL). Although many do well, many do not, and reasons for this lack of improvement are generally unknown. This proposal is focused on advancing body composition quantification of lung transplant candidates by bioelectrical impedance assay; determining the responsiveness of patient-reported survey instruments to lung transplant perioperative complications; and developing prediction models to identify which transplant recipients are at risk for poor quality of life and graft failure.
NIH RePorter Link: 1U01HL163242-01
LTC Clinical Center:
University of California, San Francisco, USA
Principal Investigators:
Johnathan Singer
Participating Sites
University of Pennsylvania - Philadelphia, USA
Columbia University - New York City, USA
Clinical and Biological Factors Predicting Lung Transplant Textbook Outcomes (U01)
Lung transplant is the only option for treatment of end-stage lung disease, but requires remarkable resources and carries a considerable risk of early post-operative complications. This project will perform a detailed analysis of pretransplant clinical variables and objective measurements of biological aging through mechanistic assays processed with machine learning in order to quantify the risk of perioperative complications and identify modifiable risk factors that can be leveraged to improve outcomes.
NIH RePorter Link: 1U01HL163300-01
LTC Clinical Center:
Duke University, Durham, USA
Principal Investigators:
Laurie Snyder,
Matthew Harwig
Participating Sites
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA
University of Louisville, Louisville, USA
Peri-operative factors that drive cell-free hemoglobin-mediated primary graft dysfunction
Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) is severe lung injury that occurs after lung transplantation and predicts poor clinical outcomes. We propose that elevated levels of cell-free hemoglobin (CFH) in the bloodstream and in the airspace cause PGD through injury to the lung tissue, and that CFH accumulation and oxidation is promoted by common clinical practices used to care for lung transplant patients. This project will determine how CFH causes PGD and how clinical management alters accumulation and oxidation of CFH, laying the groundwork for clinical trials targeting CFH to reduce risk of PGD.
NIH RePorter Link: 1U01HL163303-01
LTC Clinical Center:
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA
Principal Investigators:
Lorraine Ware
Participating Sites
New York University, Stanford University
The Lung Transplant Consortium Common Protocol: PROMISE-Lung Study
Lung transplantation is an effective and life-extending treatment for patients with advanced lung diseases. However, improvements are needed in donor management, candidate selection, and recipient care to prevent early postoperative complications and improve the long-term success of lung transplantation. To address these unmet needs, the NHLBI is creating the multisite Lung Transplant Consortium (LTC) to conduct clinical and mechanistic observational research across 7 clinical centers (LTC-CCs) and across 19 individual sites. Central to the success of the LTC is a single Data Coordinating Center (LTC-DCC) that will oversee consortium wide activities including the development and implementation of a common protocol, the Prospective Multicenter Research on Donor and Recipient Management Strategies to Improve Lung Transplant Outcomes (PROMISE)-Lung Study, that will enroll lung transplant subjects prospectively, across all LTC-CC sites, collecting clinical data and serial biosamples to create a unique resource for future research.
NIH RePorter Link: 1U24HL163122-01
LTC Clinical Center:
DCRI- Penn LTC
Data Coordinating Center
Principal Investigators:
Scott Palmer,
Jason Christie,
Megan Neely
Participating Sites
All 19 sites across all 7 LTC Clinical Centers