Lung and blood immune cell collection for genetic analysis

Patient Sampling and Genomics Core

NIH-funded research University of Illinois at Chicago · NIH-11172566

This project collects immune cells from the lungs and blood of people with ARDS and severe lung infections to look at their genes and activity.

Quick facts

Grant typeP01 program project
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionUniversity of Illinois at Chicago NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Chicago, UNITED STATES)
Project IDNIH-11172566 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

If I join, clinicians will collect fluid from my lungs using a non‑bronchoscopic lavage and draw blood to isolate immune cells. My clinical information will be entered into a secure database and my cells will be analyzed with techniques like flow cytometry, bulk RNA sequencing, and single‑cell RNA sequencing. Some participants will provide samples over time so researchers can track immune changes during illness. The team will use bioinformatics to link cell behavior and gene activity to how sick someone becomes.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal candidates are adults with sepsis, pneumonia, or other causes of acute respiratory distress who are receiving mechanical ventilation and can safely undergo non‑bronchoscopic lung sampling.

Not a fit: Patients who are not critically ill, who cannot safely undergo lung sampling, or who do not have ARDS are unlikely to be included or directly benefit.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify immune cell signatures that help predict outcomes or guide new treatments for ARDS.

How similar studies have performed: Similar bronchoalveolar and blood immune cell sequencing studies have yielded useful insights in lung injury, but combining non‑bronchoscopic longitudinal sampling with single‑cell genomics is a relatively new approach.

Where this research is happening

Chicago, UNITED STATES

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Conditions Acute Lung InjuryAcute Pulmonary InjuryAcute Respiratory Distress SyndromeAdult Respiratory Distress Syndrome
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.