# Colorado APS Clinical Center

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2023 · $173,557

## Abstract

Colorado has a long and storied history of heterogeneity-related ARDS, pneumonia, and sepsis (APS)
research. After the initial Lancet description of the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), Colorado
investigators subsequently identified pneumonia and sepsis as diagnoses associated with an increased
susceptibility for ARDS. Since that time, Colorado investigators (including many key personnel on this
proposal) have reported seminal discoveries regarding heterogeneity of ARDS, pneumonia, and sepsis
including identification of a) alcohol use disorders (AUDs) as the first co-morbid conditions that increase
susceptibility to ARDS, b) AUDs deleterious impact on sepsis mortality, c) and sex, racial, and ethnic
differences in ARDS and sepsis epidemiology. Simultaneously, Colorado investigators have been unraveling
the basic mechanisms of APS focusing on heterogeneity in the host inflammatory response. As a higher
proportion of patients began to survive APS, we expanded our research to examine survivorship focusing on
neuromuscular dysfunction. These studies have resulted in enhanced ways to diagnose weakness and
improve our understanding of the neuromuscular trajectory of recovery in APS survivors. We propose to
conduct two clinical center-specific scientific projects demonstrating the breadth and depth of our research that
spans acute APS severity and its recovery trajectory in survivors. The acute project will identify distinct
mononuclear cell endotypes present in the lungs and blood of APS participants with acute respiratory failure
using bulk RNA seq. The recovery project will establish whether neuromuscular endotypes, based primarily on
a single time-point nerve conduction study, can identify distinct and clinically relevant trajectories of recovery.
We will also explore the cross-cutting theme of how AUDs impact APS heterogeneity. Building upon a strong
and persistent research foundation, we have the research infrastructure to achieve all the outlined goals and
are poised to be a strong contributor to the national APS consortium. As an original and integral member of the
ARDS and then PETAL Network (for over 28 consecutive years), our multi-disciplinary and collaborative
research group is experienced in conducting high quality NIH-funded prospective cohort research. In 2021, the
Colorado research group enrolled 554 APS participants into clinical and translational research studies. This
number far exceeds the APS consortium requirement of 240 APS patients per year. We also have extensive
expertise
academic
rural
recruiting historically underrepresented communities (Latinx, Black, and Indigenous) from both
and community hospitals. For this proposal, we will also enroll participants from the often overlooked
community, ensuring their representation in the APS consortium.In summary, the Colorado APS Center
plans to exceed our enrollment obligations; maintain excellence in the quality of protocol compliance, data
acquisition, and regulatory resp...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10645992
- **Project number:** 1U01HL168145-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** Neil Raj Aggarwal
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $173,557
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-05-01 → 2029-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10645992

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10645992, Colorado APS Clinical Center (1U01HL168145-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10645992. Licensed CC0.

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