UNC Chapel Hill researchers have been awarded approximately $7.3 million from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to support the Rare Bronchiectatic Diseases Consortium (RBDC).
The award is led by Dr. Kenneth Olivier, Research Director of the UNC Bronchiectasis/NTM Care and Research Center and Michael E. Hatcher Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Microbiology & Immunology and Dr. Richard Boucher, Director of the Marsico Lung Institute and James C. Moeser Eminent Professor of Medicine. The RBDC is a member of the NCATS-supported Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network (RDCRN) and builds on UNC's longstanding leadership in rare lung disease research, including its role in directing the Genetic Disorders of Mucociliary Clearance Consortium, which is now concluding.
At UNC, Drs. Olivier and Boucher are joined by a multidisciplinary team of investigators, including Drs. Stephanie Davis, Thomas Ferkol, Mehmet Kesimer, Matthew Wolfgang, Gang Chen, Hong Dang, Wanda O'Neal, Alessandra Livraghi-Butrico, and Feng-Chang Lin. External collaborators include Dr. Alexandra Freeman of the intramural NIAID and NIH Clinical Center (Bethesda, MD), Dr. Gerry McElvaney of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and Dr. Adam Shapiro of the McGill University Health Centre (Canada).
Together, the consortium will study four groups of rare diseases that lead to progressive airway inflammation, infection, and bronchiectasis:
- Primary ciliary dyskinesia
- Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency
- Humoral immunodeficiencies
- Autosomal dominant hyper-IgE syndrome
In partnership with patient advocacy organizations and the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network, the RBDC aims to:
- Increase awareness of these underrecognized conditions
- Collect high-quality clinical and molecular outcome measures to support future clinical trials
- Identify therapeutic targets to guide treatment development
- Improve clinical understanding of the pathophysiology and outcomes for patients with bronchiectasis
This collaborative effort is expected to lay critical groundwork for innovative therapies and more personalized care strategies, offering new hope to patients living with these complex and often overlooked diseases.
