The University of Washington Lung Transplant Program was established in 1992 and is one of the largest programs in the country, serving the Pacific Northwest states of WA, OR, ID, MT, AK, as well as HI. Our center has performed over 1,300 lung transplants and has averaged between 50-70 transplants per year for the past decade. We have a broad portfolio in lung transplant research that spans translational, epidemiologic, and interventional studies.
Translational
Dr. Eric Morrell is the Director of the University of Washington Lung Transplant Biorepository and conducts translational research focused on the molecular epidemiology of acute and chronic lung allograft dysfunction. His group has a specific interest in the immunologic determinants of clinical outcomes in lung transplant recipients following respiratory viral infections.
The UW Lung Transplant Program is a participating site in multiple national and international consortium studies, including the Cystic Fibrosis Lung Transplant Consortium and the NHLBI Promise Study.
Clinical/Epidemiologic Research
Our lung transplant group leverages local and national datasets to answer clinical questions in lung transplant. Dr. Morrell spearheaded the creation of a comprehensive database of all lung transplant recipients transplanted at the UW Lung Transplant Program. Dr. Kathleen Ramos’ research is focused on clinical outcomes in cystic fibrosis (CF), advanced lung disease, and lung transplantation. Trainees working with Drs. Morrell and Ramos have access to large datasets for epidemiologic studies in lung transplant. Collaborations on epidemiology projects with clinician scholars, including Drs. Erika Lease and Siddhartha Kapnadak, have led to many publications. Dr. Lease has expertise and experience working with the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and brings a policy lens to clinical research projects. Dr. Tijana Milinic is focused on community engagement and health equity. Recent clinical outcomes research studies have focused on practice variability in the administration of azithromycin for CLAD prophylaxis, the impact of elexaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor (ETI) following transplant for CF, and associations between acute declines in lung function and long-term development of CLAD.
Interventional Trials
Dr. Ramos is a clinical trialist with a focus on improving outcomes for patients with a lung transplant. These studies include a trial testing an intervention in transplant education for individuals with CF prior to transplant and planning a multicenter randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial testing azithromycin for CLAD prophylaxis. Dr. Erika Lease is involved in a multicenter NIH-funded trial evaluating whether pre-transplant health coaching improves post-transplant outcomes.
