May 27, 2025- Cleveland Clinic has been awarded a $5 million grant from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to continue its role as the Biorepository Coordinating Center for the Cystic Fibrosis Lung Transplant Consortium until 2030. The coordinating center provides the infrastructure to support research to improve understanding of the factors that affect lung transplant outcomes.
The initiative, which includes 15 participating institutions in North America, is led by Maryam Valapour, M.D., M.P.P., director of Lung Transplant Outcomes at Cleveland Clinic, and Suzy Comhair, Ph.D., scientific director of Cleveland Clinic’s Biorepository and associate professor in the department of inflammation and immunity.
Since its inception, the center has led this prospective, longitudinal study of lung transplant recipients. The study collects biological specimens and clinical data at key milestones following transplantation, with all data linked to the Cystic Fibrosis Lung Transplant Consortium registry.
The ongoing effort enables future research studies to access these biospecimens and data to investigate the causes of and potential treatments for Chronic Lung Allograft Dysfunction (CLAD). This serious and common complication is the primary cause of lung failure and mortality after lung transplantation.