Human airway muscle samples and tissues hub for asthma research
Official title: Human Cell and Tissue Acquisition Core
Funded at Thomas Jefferson University · NIH-11417191 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A funded NIH grant will provide standardized human airway smooth muscle cells and lung tissue samples to study what drives airway tightening and relaxation in asthma.
Quick facts
| Grant type | P01 program project |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Thomas Jefferson University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project start | September 20, 2025 |
| Project end | July 31, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $332,180 |
| NIH project number | 5P01HL180318-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11417191 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with asthma or donors providing airway tissue samples, alongside non-asthma controls, for research use.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without asthma may participate only as controls and may not directly benefit from the therapeutic targets identified.
What this research studies
This grant supports Core B to supply high-quality HASM cells and precision-cut lung slices from human donors. Researchers will use advanced single-cell models and tissue systems to map how airway muscles contract, relax, and grow in asthma. The work includes comparing samples from people with asthma to those without, to uncover pathways that could be targeted by new therapies. By centralizing these human-derived models, the project aims to speed discoveries in airway disease biology and potential treatments.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients with asthma could benefit from new targets and therapies informed by human tissue data.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work with human airway tissues has yielded actionable insights into EC signaling and contractility, supporting this approach as promising.
Where this research is happening
-
Thomas Jefferson University
Philadelphia, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Panettieri, Reynold Alexander — Thomas Jefferson University
- Study coordinator: Panettieri, Reynold Alexander
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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.