# Proteomic and metabolomic trajectories of ARDS molecular phenotypes

> **NIH HL K23** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2026 · $200,502

## Abstract

ABSTRACT. This application is for a K23 award for Narges Alipanah-Lechner, MD, MAS, a Clinical Instructor
in the Division of Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine at the University of California San Francisco. Dr. Alipanah-
Lechner is a young investigator in patient-oriented translational research in the acute respiratory distress
syndrome (ARDS). This proposal will allow her to achieve competency in computational methods for high
throughput data analyses and advanced epidemiologic methods, develop expertise in conducting prospective
observational studies, enhance her understanding of systems biology, and become an independent
investigator. To achieve these objectives, the candidate has assembled a mentoring team that includes her
primary mentor Dr. Carolyn Calfee, renowned expert in ARDS biological subtypes and translational research,
Dr. Angela Rogers, co-mentor and expert in metabolomics in critical illness, Dr. Kathleen Stringer, expert in
metabolomic methodology and pharmaco-metabolomics, Dr. Gabriela Fragiadakis, expert in bioinformatics,
and Dr. Kevin Delucchi, expert in biostatistics. ARDS is a common cause of respiratory failure in the intensive
care unit with a high mortality rate and limited treatment options. Recent studies on select plasma proteins
have revealed two subtypes of ARDS, termed hyper-inflammatory and hypo-inflammatory, with vastly different
mortality outcomes and varying responses to treatments previously considered ineffective. However, little is
known about the evolution of these subtypes, whether inflammation is the sole driver of subtype differences,
and if they reflect differences in local lung injury. The candidate’s long-term goal is to apply complementary
systems biology approaches within precision medicine to improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with
ARDS. The overall objective for this application is to identify metabolite and protein drivers of ARDS evolution
in patients with hyper- and hypo-inflammatory ARDS. The central h

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11250125
- **Project number:** 5K23HL173659-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Narges  Alipanah-Lechner
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** HL
- **Fiscal year:** 2026
- **Award amount:** $200,502
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2024-12-20T00:00:00 → 2029-11-30T00:00:00

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11250125

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11250125, Proteomic and metabolomic trajectories of ARDS molecular phenotypes (5K23HL173659-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-07-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11250125. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*