Improving recovery from severe pneumonia with advanced lab testing
Successful Clinical Response In Pneumonia Therapy (SCRIPT) Systems Biology Center
This project uses blood, lung fluid, and nose samples plus advanced lab techniques to find patterns that predict which hospitalized patients with severe community-acquired or hospital/ventilator-associated pneumonia will get better or worse.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Northwestern University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11248049 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
From a patient's perspective, researchers collect bronchoalveolar lavage (lung fluid), nasal curettage, and blood samples over time from people hospitalized with severe pneumonia and analyze them with cutting-edge methods like single-cell RNA sequencing, multiparameter flow cytometry, and deep pathogen and microbiome sequencing. They combine these biological data with detailed clinical information to build models that aim to identify favorable or unfavorable clinical transitions during a pneumonia episode. The team previously used this systems biology approach to create a model that supported a therapy for severe COVID-19 that showed efficacy in a phase II trial. The renewed center (SCRIPT2) focuses on severe community-acquired pneumonia and hospital/ventilator-associated pneumonia to make these predictive models actionable for clinicians.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults hospitalized with severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) or hospital/ventilator-associated pneumonia (HAP/VAP) who can provide blood and respiratory samples and whose care teams can perform the required sampling are ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People with mild outpatient pneumonia or those who cannot or will not undergo bronchoscopy, nasal sampling, or blood draws are unlikely to receive direct benefit from participation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could enable earlier, more personalized treatments and better outcomes for people with severe pneumonia.
How similar studies have performed: Related multi-omics work from the same center supported a therapy for severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia with positive results in a phase II trial, but broader validation across pneumonia types is still needed.
Where this research is happening
Chicago, United States
- Northwestern University — Chicago, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wunderink, Richard G — Northwestern University
- Study coordinator: Wunderink, Richard G
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 below.