Exercise program to reduce frailty in people awaiting lung transplant
Official title: XFIT: An Exercise-based Frailty Intervention in Lung Transplant Candidates
Funded at University of California, San Francisco · NIH-11193900 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A tailored exercise and lifestyle program to help people who are frail while waiting for a lung transplant get stronger and more active.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Francisco NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Francisco, United States) |
| Project start | September 17, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $404,158 |
| NIH project number | 5R61HL169183-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11193900 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults who are listed for lung transplantation and show signs of physical frailty, low strength, or low activity.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not on a lung transplant list, are not physically frail, or who cannot safely participate in exercise because of unstable medical conditions may not benefit from this program.
What this research studies
You would be offered a personalized exercise and lifestyle program adapted from geriatric and pulmonary rehabilitation approaches to address weakness, muscle loss, inflammation, and low activity. The team at UCSF working with geriatrics, pulmonary rehab, and exercise physiologists would tailor supervised sessions and home-based exercises to your needs. Researchers will collect measures like strength, body composition, activity levels, and blood markers before and after the program to track change. The intervention is designed specifically for people listed for lung transplant to try to improve function before and after surgery.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this program could improve strength and fitness, reduce complications around transplant, and increase chances of surviving and recovering after transplant.
How similar studies have gone: Exercise and lifestyle programs have improved frailty and physical function in older adults, but applying these interventions specifically to lung transplant candidates is a novel approach that has not yet been proven.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Singer, Jonathan Paul — University of California, San Francisco
- Study coordinator: Singer, Jonathan Paul
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Exercise-based frailty program for people awaiting lung transplants
A tailored exercise and lifestyle program is being tested to reduce frailty and improve outcomes for people waiting for a lung transplant.
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Exercise program to improve health in lung transplant candidates
This study is testing a special exercise program designed to help people waiting for a lung transplant feel stronger and healthier, so they can have better outcomes before and after their surgery.
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Understanding why a lung transplant sometimes fails early and how to tailor treatment
A study of people receiving lung transplants to find molecular differences that cause early graft failure and point to better, personalized therapies.
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Targeting inflammation and alloimmunity in lung transplant recipients with clazakizumab
A study to see if blocking IL-6 with clazakizumab can improve survival and reduce rejection in people who have received a lung transplant.
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Vaccination responses in lung transplant patients
This grant studies how people who have received lung transplants respond to COVID-19 vaccines and why their antibody responses may be limited.
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The Post-Lung Transplant Aging in Immune Cells in Donor Lungs
This grant explores how aging donor lungs affect lung transplant outcomes by studying immune cells called alveolar macrophages.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.