Department of Medicine

Simmons Center for Interstitial Lung Disease

Program Description

The Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) 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 with the aim of providing a unique environment in which disease management and diagnosis, patient and family education, and cutting edge research are seamlessly integrated.

Working in a multidisciplinary team, physicians and nurses at the center apply the most advanced approaches to the diagnosis and management of ILD such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), Sarcoidosis and ILD associated with connective tissue disease, researchers apply cutting edge technologies to find new ways to diagnose and treat these diseases and nursing and quality of life experts educate and support the patients and their caregivers and family members.

Focus

The diagnosis and management of interstitial lung disease, a complex and diverse group of lung diseases, requires significant expertise and often requires interaction between multiple specialties. At the Simmons Center, evaluation and treatment by a multidisciplinary team that includes experts in pulmonary medicine, rheumatology, cardiology, dermatology, radiology, pathology, thoracic surgery, lung transplantation, genomics and quality of life exemplifies the strength of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and offers patients the benefits of an integrated approach to their disease.  The patients are offered to participate in NIH and industry sponsored research opportunities to study causes and potential treatments for their diseases. In particular the researchers and clinicians at the Simmons Center work closely to translate basic research on interstitial lung disease into new treatments that may save lives in the future and to new diagnostic approaches that will allow personalizing the management of their disease.  Quality of life assessment and disease management education are key components of the patient’s encounter with the Simmons Center. Patients and their families are offered participation in Support Groups, Regional Education Events and other outreach activities aimed to improve the ability of patients and their caregivers to handle the burden of disease.

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 Kaminski.

Additional PACCM faculty involved with the Center include Dr. Prabir Ray, Dr. Kevin Gibson, Dr. Steve Duncan, Dr. Carol Feghali-Bostwick, Dr. Yingze Zhang, Dr. Thomas Richards, Dr. Wei Wu, and Dr. Mandal. Singh. 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. Thomas Medsger (Rheumatology), Dr. Ben Weksler (Thoracic Surgeon), and Dr. Mike Mathier (Cardiology). 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. 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 facilitationof 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; anddevelopment 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 andgenetic factors in the development of systemic sclerosis.

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.

Kathleen Oare Lindell, PhD, RN, is the clinical nurse specialist and nursing manager for the Dorothy P. and Richard P. Simmons Center for Interstitial Lung Disease and directs the Quality of Life Center at the Simmons Center.

Dr. Lindell’s research involves interventions to improve quality of life for patients with lung fibrosis and their family members, and she leads the Simmons Center IPF patient support group. Kathy is also adjunct faculty at the School of Nursing at the University of Pittsburgh.  Currently she is the inaugural Chair of the Patient and Family Education Committee for the American Thoracic Society, and recently completed her tenure as the Chair of the Nursing Assembly for the ATS and the ATS Board of Directors.

Diseases

While patients with every ILD are seen at the Dorothy P. and Richard P. Simmons Center for ILD, most of the patient’s diagnoses fall within the following three main diseases (see chart below):

Simmons Center Disease Distribution Aug 5, 2010 (n = 2104)

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)
the most common form of interstitial lung disease, marked by progressive scarring of the lungs that gradually interferes with a person’s ability to breathe. The diagnosis of IPF is challenging and there are no know therapies, except lung transplantation, although many new experimental drugs are being evaluated. 

Sarcoidosis
Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease of unknown origin impacts the lung but also other organs. It is variable in presentation, response to therapy and outcome.
 
ILD associated with autoimmune disease
Many autoimmune or rheumatologic diseases such as scleroderma, dermatomyositis and rheumatoid arthritis that affect the joints, the skin and other organs also affect the lung.  In many cases the outcome of the patient is dependent on the severity of their lung disease. In close collaboration with the division of rheumatology the physicians at the Simmons Center aggressively seek the extent of lung disease in these conditions and their optimal management.

CONTACT INFORMATION: 
To schedule an appointment, please call the Simmons Center at 412-802-3275. To learn more about research opportunities, please call 412-647-ILDR (4537).

	2009 Simmons Center Faculty and Staff