Anyone who wor ks with C huck D aley, MD , C hief of the Di vision of M ycobacterial and Respirator y , knows that he travels far and wide to i mprove access to tr eatments for dr ug-resistant . In M ay, he will recei ve the World Lung H ealth Award, in r ecogniti on of his contributions to i mpr oving world l ung heal th.

April 2016

Anyone who works with Chuck Daley, MD, Chief of the Division of Mycobacterial and Respiratory Infections, knows that he travels far and wide to improve access to treatments for drug-resistant tuberculosis. Dr. Daley holds leadership positions with the Stop TB Partnership and the Global TB Program at the World Health Organization. At this year’s American Thoracic Society International Conference in May, he will receive the World Lung Health Award in recognition of his contributions to improving world lung health. Congratulations, Chuck, and thank you.

National Leaders Will Speak at Retreat on Campus We are looking forward to hosting 200 board members, trustees and friends from around the nation for a retreat at National Jewish Health May 11-13. We hold these events once every two to three years to inform our influential supporters about activities at National Jewish Health and health care in America. These sessions provide a foundation for their input on our strategic direction and help them raise awareness of National Jewish Health around the nation. Please welcome them to our campus and answer any questions they may have.

We also hope you will find time to attend one or more of the excellent presentations we have scheduled for the retreat. In addition to our own faculty, several national leaders will offer their perspectives on health care in America.

Keynote speakers:

 James Kiley, PhD, Director of the Division of Lung Diseases, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute  Anne Schuchat, MD, Principal Deputy Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  Chris Wilson, MD, Director of Global Health Discovery & Translational Sciences, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation  Jon Meacham, presidential historian and Pulitzer-Prize winning author  Brian Day, PhD, Vice Chair of Research, National Jewish Health  Stephen K. Klasko, MD, MBA, President and CEO, Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health

Panel discussion: The Future of Academic Medicine

 Greg Downey, MD, Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs, National Jewish Health  John Reilly, Dean of the University of School of Medicine

Panel discussion: The Affordable Care Act and Public Health

 Donna Lynne, DrPH, Executive Vice President of the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan  Michael Slubowski, President and CEO of SCL Health

New Clinic Helps Disadvantaged National Jewish Health has begun a new program to better serve underinsured, working poor and homeless patients. Funded by a three-year Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit Grant, the Comprehensive Respiratory Care Clinic relies on a team led by Pulmonologist Jason McCarl, MD; Nurse Manager Kaci Chacon, RN; and Community Research Director Lisa Cicutto, PhD. With optimized care and social support services, the clinic helps underserved patients better manage their care, prevent pulmonary exacerbations and reduce missed appointments.

Rohit Katial Takes National Role in and Training For more than a decade, Rohit Katial, MD, has directed the National Jewish Health training program for fellows in allergy and clinical immunology. Recently, he has become involved on a national level training the next generation of health care professionals. He has been named a Director on the American Board of Allergy and Immunology, which writes the exam for board certification in allergy and immunology. He has also been selected as Vice Chair of the committee that accredits fellowship programs across the country.

Public-Private Partnership Garners Grants For seven years, we have partnered with Colorado’s Office of Economic Development to jointly fund promising research with commercial potential at National Jewish Health. Over the years, the research funded by these grants have earned several patents, inspired two startup companies, and obtained additional funding for follow-up research. It has been a productive public-private partnership. This year, three groups at National Jewish Health have received Advanced Industries Accelerator Grants, formerly kn own as Bioscience Discovery Grants.

Vijaya Knight, MD, PhD; Richard Meehan, MD; and Karin Pacheco, MD, received a grant to create a center for the diagnosis of rheumatologic disorders and joint replacement failure. The center will use Dr. Meehan’s invention, the KneeTap™, to obtain synovial fluid, then use assays from the Advanced Diagnostic Laboratories to assess ongoing inflammation in the joints.

Michael Strong, PhD, received a grant to develop a Healthy Home Environment Test Kit to use a proprietary approach to identify potentially harmful fungal/mold and bacterial contamination of water, air or surfaces. These will be combined with radon and asbestos tests for an all-in-one home test for homeowners and home inspectors.

Ken Malcom, PhD, was awarded a grant to develop a blood test to help predict outcomes for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS. The test, which measures expression levels of three interferon-stimulated genes, seeks to help predict mortality, ventilator-free days and ICU-free days.

Asthma App for Docs Our own Michael Wechsler, MD, is helping develop the next generation of professional education as editor-in- chief of a new app, @Point of Care™. The app offers continuing medical education for physicians on the diagnosis, treatment and management of asthma.

Research Highlights Irina Petrache, MD, and her colleagues identified significant cellular injury and systemic hypoxemia as a result of exposure to galactic/cosmic rays and solar particle events. The findings suggest the need to develop lung- protective procedures for deep-space missions. The study was was recently recognized by the American Journal of Physiology – Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, as the most outstanding paper by a senior investigator.

Xiyuan Bai, PhD, and Ed Chan, MD, have shown that curcumin, an organic chemical that gives the spice turmeric its yellow color, protects against tuberculosis infections in cell-culture studies. In India, turmeric has long been used as a treatment for internal disorders. Considerable research effort recently has gone into curcumin’s mode of action and potential as a therapy for several diseases.

Meiqin Wang, MD, PhD, and Erwin Gelfand, MD, reported that simultaneous pre-treatment of mice with the antihistamine Claritin and an experimental antihistamine with a different mode of action blocked the gastrointestinal symptoms of food allergy in mice.

Mark Aloia, PhD, and his colleagues reported that sleep apnea patients used their CPAP machines an additional 99 minutes nightly -- a very significant amount -- after receiving “motivational enhancement,” psychological counseling strategy designed to resolve ambivalence and enhance commitment.

Thanks again for all your efforts every day at National Jewish Health.

Sincerely yours,

Michael Salem, MD, FACS President & CEO Thank you for reading this update letter. We hope it helps you stay more informed about our accomplishments and our challenges as we all strive to deliver our very best toward our mission in patient care, research and education. Feedback and suggestions are always appreciated. You may share your thoughts directly with me or respond by email to [email protected].