NIH awards Arkansas Children’s Research Institute $2.9 million for cystic fibrosis

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded $2.9 million to Arkansas Children’s Research Institute (ACRI) to examine how a critical therapy for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) might become even more effective at treating the genetic respiratory illness.

The five-year study will be led by Dr. Jennifer S. Guimbellot, chief of Pediatric Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine at Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), where she also serves as an associate professor of Pediatrics.

CF is a progressive disorder that severely damages the lungs, digestive system and other organs by affecting cells that produce mucus, sweat and digestive juices. For decades, CF therapies focused on reducing the problems the condition caused and made it easier to live with the symptoms. Improvements in screening and treatments helped people with CF live into their 40s and 50s.

NIH awards Arkansas Children’s Research Institute $2.9 million for cystic fibrosis