# BLR&D Research Career Scientist Award Application

> **NIH VA IK6** · VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION · 2020 · —

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Jie Fan, M.D., M.Sc. has been working in the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System (VAPHS) since
2003, and is a Director of the Multidisciplinary Surgical Research Program, a Vice Chair of the
Institutional Biosafety Committee in VAPHS, and a tenured Full Professor of the Department of Surgery
at the University of Pittsburgh. He is a Principal Investigator working on the cellular and molecular
mechanisms of sepsis, post-trauma systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and acute lung
injury (ALI), an important but exceptionally difficult area. His laboratory has been funded by two VA
merit review grants and four NIH research grants (R01, P50, and R56).
 The burden of trauma-related diseases is considerable. Following exsanguination and/or brain
injury that commonly result in early phase death, more than 60% of surviving patients later die of
causes related to the development of SIRS, sepsis, and ALI. This patient population is well suited for
prophylactic interventions aimed at preventing these occurrences because of the time lag before the
onset of organ inflammation and failure. Nonetheless, few specific targets have been identified that
predispose to SIRS and ALI. The long term goal of Dr. Fan’s studies is to provide a new understanding
of the mechanisms of post-trauma inflammation and organ dysfunction, and therefore, to potentially
provide novel targets for preventive and therapeutic interventions in post-trauma SIRS, sepsis, and ALI.
The studies by Dr. Fan’s team will also provide a greater understanding of the pathogenesis of multiple
human diseases in which inflammation plays a central role.
 ALI is one of the common endpoints of SIRS and sepsis. SIRS and sepsis are common causes of
mortality following surgery, infection, spinal injury, stroke, hemorrhage, and trauma in the veteran
population. And thus, Dr. Fan’s research is highly relevant to Veterans’ health.
 Dr. Fan’s research provides critical information that can be used toward the development of
therapies for veterans with post-trauma inflammation and ALI. He is a highly productive Principal
Investigator with a long track record of both VA and NIH funding. He has also served in roles such as
Co-Investigator, Consultant, and Collaborator on numerous other research grants. His research and
collaborations have resulted in 113 peer-reviewed publications, many of them in the best scientific
journals and with high impact factors, including Nature Medicine, Nature Communications, Journal of
Clinical Investigation, Hepatology, Journal of Hepatology, Cell Death & Differentiation, and Journal of
Immunology. Dr. Fan’s work is renowned by his peers nationally and internationally. He has been an
invited speaker at numerous national and international conferences and at many research and
educational institutions. He serves as a reviewer in a number of national peer-review committees,
including VA, NIH, DoD, and American Institution of Biological Sciences study sections. He also ser...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9899091
- **Project number:** 5IK6BX004211-03
- **Recipient organization:** VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
- **Principal Investigator:** Jie Fan
- **Activity code:** IK6 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-04-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9899091

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9899091, BLR&D Research Career Scientist Award Application (5IK6BX004211-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9899091. Licensed CC0.

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