# Risk-stratification and prediction of adverse outcomes in interstitial lung abnormalities

> **NIH NIH K08** · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · 2024 · $167,410

## Abstract

Project Summary
Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is one of the most common forms of interstitial lung disease (ILD) and is often
progressive leading to loss of lung function and death. Given that anti-fibrotic therapy can reduce progression,
even in patients with less severe disease, there is more urgency to detect early stages of PF. Dr. Rose’s research
group has helped to define imaging patterns, called interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA), that can help to predict
early stages of PF. The fact that ILA is so much more prevalent than IPF, however, compels us to identify the
subsets of ILA most likely to experience adverse outcomes. Dr. Rose’s initial work in the COPDGene cohort
demonstrated that a combination of advanced imaging findings and pulmonary function identifies a high-risk
group of ILA. The optimal method for predicting adverse outcomes, however, remains unclear and replication in
other populations is warranted. Furthermore, novel biomarkers are needed, and the mechanisms of severity in
this disease need to be better understood. The overall goal of this project is to identify the best method for the
risk-stratification of ILA in order to identify a subset that may benefit from early intervention.
In the first aim, Dr. Rose will assess the ability of clinical variables to predict a range of longitudinal outcomes
and identify the optimal set of clinical criteria that helps to classify high-risk ILA. In the second aim, he will utilize
proteomic measures to evaluate plasma proteins and multi-protein models that help to risk-stratify ILA. Finally in
the third aim, he will explore genetic predictors of the proteins most significantly associated with high-risk ILA.
This work will be performed in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, at Brigham and Women’s
Hospital (BWH), a core teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. Dr. Rose will perform this work under the
mentorship of Dr. Hunninghake, an expert in the field of early IPF characterization and Dr. Raby, an expert in
genetic epidemiology. With the guidance of his mentors and scientific advisory committee, Dr. Rose has
developed a comprehensive five-year training program to develop the skills needed to complete the project and
become an independent investigator with expertise in imaging characterization, machine-learning techniques,
complex multi-omic analyses, and their integration.
Dr. Rose is dedicated to a career in academic medicine. His goal is to become a physician-investigator using
the knowledge and skills gained during this project to better our understanding of adverse outcomes in pulmonary
fibrosis and the biologic processes that lead to progressive disease, in a way that will ultimately benefit the
patients suffering from this disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10864179
- **Project number:** 1K08HL173562-01
- **Recipient organization:** BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Jonathan Rose
- **Activity code:** K08 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $167,410
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-04-01 → 2029-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10864179

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10864179, Risk-stratification and prediction of adverse outcomes in interstitial lung abnormalities (1K08HL173562-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-29 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10864179. Licensed CC0.

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