REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO, THE

Chronic lung diseases represent a broad spectrum of chronic fibrosing/inflammatory lung conditions that are for the most part poorly responsive to treatment and often fatal. COPD/emphysema is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and the incidence and rate of death from pulmonary fibrosis is increasing each year. Although progress has been made in interpretation of the clinical, radiological, and pathological features of chronic lung disorders, and progress in determining the pathobiology continues, the causes, biologic mechanisms, and therapeutic options remain obscure. Moreover, predicting individuals or populations at risk for developing any of these complex diseases, at present, is not possible. To address this challenge, we plan to create a genetic, molecular, and quantitative clinical phenotyping data warehouse with bioinformatic tools that will empower investigators to make fundamental discoveries in disease pathogenesis, refine diagnostic criteria, and lead to real gains in personalized medicine. The composite genetic, genomic, and epigenetic signature combined with quantitative clinical phenotypes has the potential to characterize the dynamic biological state of a complex disease and complement existing diagnostic approaches that are reliant on traditional clinical measures of disease. In the proposed project, we plan to extend the scope and impact ofthe NHLBI Lung Tissue Research Consortium (LTRC) biorepository by creating the Lung Genomics Research Consortium (LGRC), a comprehensive genetic, molecular, and quantitative clinical phenotyping warehouse. Our overall hypothesis is that a genetic, molecular, and quantitative clinical phenotyping warehouse combined with a rich ciinicai database will enable the lung research community to make fundamental discoveries in disease pathogenesis, refine diagnostic criteria, and lead to real gains in personalized medicine.

Clarification of Codes