How body fat and muscle affect recovery after lung transplant
Official title: The impact of body composition on peri-operative and patient-centered outcomes in lung transplantation.
Funded at University of California, San Francisco · NIH-11383321 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how body fat and muscle mass relate to recovery, complications, and quality of life for people getting lung transplants.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Francisco NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Francisco, United States) |
| Project start | August 5, 2022 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $174,005 |
| NIH project number | 3U01HL163242-04S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11383321 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults who are listed for lung transplantation or are in the early post-transplant period and can attend study visits for body composition testing and follow-up are ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not undergoing lung transplantation, have other organ transplants, or cannot access participating transplant centers are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this project.
What this research studies
If you are a lung transplant candidate or recent recipient, this project follows people through the transplant period and measures body composition using tools like bioelectrical impedance (BIA), CT scans, and DXA. The team records surgical complications, primary graft dysfunction (PGD), survival, and patient-reported outcomes such as functioning and health-related quality of life over time. They will search for patterns such as sarcopenic obesity that may signal higher risk for poor recovery and test whether BIA can be a practical clinic tool. Results are intended to help identify patients who might benefit from targeted pre- or post-transplant care to improve outcomes.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help identify patients at higher risk for complications and guide interventions to improve survival, recovery, and quality of life after lung transplant.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies, including prior work by this team, have linked obesity and low muscle mass to worse transplant outcomes, but using BIA to predict patient-reported outcomes and characterizing sarcopenic obesity is still relatively new.
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.
-
Body composition and outcomes after lung transplant
A patient-focused look at how body fat and muscle measurements around the time of lung transplant relate to recovery, complications, and quality of life after surgery.
-
Advanced body fat imaging to improve lung transplant outcomes
This project uses CT imaging of fat distribution to better predict who will do well with a lung transplant and when to list them, with the goal of improving survival after transplant.
-
Body composition and outcomes after lung transplant
This study explores how body composition affects recovery and patient-reported well-being after lung transplantation.
-
How body fat and muscle affect recovery and quality of life after lung transplant
This research looks at whether body fat, muscle mass, and related body-measure tests predict complications, survival, and quality of life for people getting lung transplants.
-
How body composition affects outcomes in lung transplantation
This study is looking at how body weight and muscle health affect recovery and quality of life for people getting a lung transplant, so we can better support patients during their healing process.
-
How body composition affects outcomes for lung transplant patients
This study is looking at how body weight and muscle mass affect the health and recovery of people getting a lung transplant, with the goal of helping doctors better care for their patients.
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.