Simmons Center for Interstitial Lung Disease

Program Description

The Interstitial Lung Disease program is based within the Dorothy P. and Richard P. Simmons Center for Interstitial Lung Diseases at the University of Pittsburgh. This center was established in 2001 through the generous donation of the Simmons family. The mission of the center is

• to provide state-of-the-art care for patients with interstitial lung disease that is comprehensive and compassionate
• to provide international leadership in the understanding of basic mechanisms of lung inflammation and fibrosis
• to promote the translation of this advancing biology into new treatments for patients with these lung disorders
• to provide a comprehensive resource for the education of patients and their families regarding the disease and its impact on their lifestyle

The Simmons Center is a comprehensive multidisciplinary program incorporating research scientists, clinicians, nurse specialists, and rehabilitation medicine staff. The center is under the direction of Dr. Naftali Kaminiski. Additional PACCM faculty involved with the Center include Dr. Prabir Ray, Dr. Kevin Gibson, Dr. Steve Duncan, Dr. Carol Feghali-Bostwick, Dr. Danielle Morse, Dr. Yingze Zhang, Dr Thomas Richards, Dr Wei Wu, Dr Mandal Singh and Dr. Ivan Rosas. Among the the members of the Simmons Center from other divisions and departments are Dr. Luis Ortiz (EOH), Dr Tim Oury, Dr. Sam Yousem (Pathology), Dr. Chester Oddis, Dr. Dana Ascherman and Dr.  Medsger (Rheumatology). The research infrastructure at center includes multiple research coordinators, a huge collection of well phenotyped lung and peripheral blood samples and a detailed patient database. To see the distribution of patients at the Simmons Center see figure on the left.
Current research efforts include basic investigations focused on the mechanisms of the lung fibrosis, injury and repair, genomics and proteomics of lung fibrosis and the role of the genetics in determining the fibrotic phenotype. As part of the special attention given at the program to facilitation of rapid translation from bench to bedside, scientists at the center are also active in translational research, studies of biomarkers of disease progression and development of new therapeutic drug targets. Scientists at the program are funded by NIH grants, and by the industry and enjoy a deep collaborative relationship with investigators all across the world.

Dr. Kaminski’s research interest include using genomics to understand the basic mechanisms of pulmonary fibrosis; understanding the regulatory networks including the role of small regulatory RNAs and epigenomic modifications that  determine the lung phenotype in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and  other chronic lung diseases; development of non-invasive diagnostic markers in chronic and progressive lung disease; role of matrix metalloproteases in epithelial injury, repair and differentiations; and development of tools and analytical approaches for application of systems biology to medical research.  Dr. Kaminski is a project leader on the Host Defense SCCOR as well as PI on several other NIH, Industry and state grants including the Pennsylvania IPF State Registry. Dr Kaminski has authored more than 70 research papers, reviews and book chapters. To see some of Dr  Kaminski’s publications click here  

Dr. Feghali-Bostwick’s research has focused on the role of insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs) in the development and perpetuation of fibrosis, the identification of aberrantly expressed genes in primary fibroblasts cultured from fibrotic skin and lung tissues, and the examination of the role of environmental and genetic factors in the development of systemic sclerosis.

Dr. Morse’s research interest focuses on the role of the stress response gene heme oxygenase-1 and its catabolic byproduct, carbon monoxide, in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis.

Dr. Gibson is the medical director of the Dorothy P. and Richard P. Simmons Center for Interstitial Lung Disease. He is in charge of all clinical research in the center and is the PI on several drug studies. Dr. Gibson’s research is currently focuses on translational studies to identify unique biomarkers of disease activity in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and other interstitial lung diseases, and studies of gene expression profiling in lung and peripheral blood in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.