# CoPARC: Colorado Pulmonary-Alcohol Research Collaborative

> **NIH NIH R24** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2024 · $717,341

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The Colorado Pulmonary Alcohol Research Collaborative (CoPARC) Resource, centered at the University of
Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (CU Anschutz), provides an essential service for investigators to conduct
clinical and translational research to understand the pathogenesis of alcohol misuse in pulmonary infections
(particularly community-acquired pneumonia, or CAP) and their sequelae. In 2011, CoPARC launched an
infrastructure to obtain and distribute biospecimens and data from otherwise healthy participants with well-
characterized alcohol misuse, and healthy controls, including bronchoalveolar lavage and bronchial brushings
obtained by bronchoscopy, and blood. During the last renewal, CoPARC's repertoire expanded to meet
evolving investigator requests, with addition of new biospecimen types (e.g. stool, nasal epithelial brushings),
new clinical data (e.g. assessment of neuromuscular weakness), and new participant cohorts (e.g. inhaled
cannabis users). Expansions provided novel opportunities for studies of the gut-lung brain axis, and dual use
disorders, among others. The last renewal also featured new enrollment of critically ill patients with respiratory
failure and the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) that often complicates CAP in association with
alcohol misuse. Biospecimens collected from critically ill patients include BAL, tracheal aspirates, serial blood
samples, and stool. Infrastructure was also implemented to longitudinally assess patients who survive critical
illness for up to a year post-discharge to evaluate domains of respiratory, physical, and mental health,
including substance use habits. R24 Supplement funding provided an added opportunity to study critically ill
patients with Coronavirus (COVID)-19. CoPARC has had consistent support from consortia (Emory University,
Louisiana State University, Loyola University Chicago, University of California San Francisco, and University of
Nebraska Medical Center) to enroll participants and patients in parallel who augment the size and
representativeness of CU Anschutz cohorts. For the renewal, CoPARC's long-term objective is to magnify the
utility and impact of existing Resource services based on evolving needs of investigators, under the guidance
of a committed Steering Committee. Aims for CoPARC's renewal include: 1. Generate and diversify the
Resource's biological specimen and data inventory to facilitate research targeting the impact of alcohol misuse
across pulmonary and extra-pulmonary organ axes, based on dynamic and evolving investigator requests. 2.
Expand access to biorepositories and data generated through a) consortia arrangements, and b) new multi-
center clinical research and data networks, whose participants have well-characterized alcohol use habits, to
enable clinical and translational research on a larger scale. 3. Strengthen connections in the pulmonary-alcohol
research community through novel services provided by CoPARC to enhance ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10831801
- **Project number:** 2R24AA019661-11
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** ELLEN L BURNHAM
- **Activity code:** R24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $717,341
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2011-08-01 → 2029-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10831801

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10831801, CoPARC: Colorado Pulmonary-Alcohol Research Collaborative (2R24AA019661-11). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10831801. Licensed CC0.

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