Understanding how the lung’s tiny blood vessels fail in ARDS to guide new therapies
Official title: Applying Innovative Lung Mapping Strategies to Understand Alveolar Capillary Barrier Permeability in ARDS
Funded at Vanderbilt University Medical Center · NIH-11411197 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A research project at Vanderbilt will look for new targets in ARDS by studying lung tissue and gene activity to understand why the alveolar barrier breaks down.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Vanderbilt University Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Nashville, United States) |
| Project start | June 1, 2020 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $688,098 |
| NIH project number | 5R35HL150783-07 |
| Project ID | NIH-11411197 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates include individuals with or at risk for ARDS whose lung tissue samples or related data could contribute to understanding disease mechanisms.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with ARDS where tissue acquisition is not possible or data cannot be linked to therapeutic targets may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
This project aims to map the cellular and molecular changes that disrupt the alveolar capillary barrier in ARDS using advanced imaging and single-cell gene profiling. Researchers will integrate tissue imaging mass spectrometry with deep analysis of gene expression to identify potential targets for therapy. Findings could point to new pathways to protect or repair the lung barrier and accelerate translation toward treatments for patients with ARDS.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could lead to new targeted therapies that improve survival and lung function for ARDS patients.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work has advanced understanding of ARDS pathways, and this project aims to build on that by identifying novel mediators in the alveolar barrier.
Where this research is happening
-
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bastarache, Julie a. — Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Bastarache, Julie a.
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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.