Yale Center for Pulmonary Infection Research and Treatment (CPIRT)

Mission

This multidisciplinary Center for Pulmonary Infection Research and Treatment (CPIRT) is an academic hub and international leader in advancing innovative and cutting-edge basic, translational and clinical research focusing on acute and chronic infections of the lung. The primary goal of the Center will be to further the field’s understanding of pulmonary infections and lead to more effective tools for diagnosis and comprehensive medical treatments.

Current therapies for pulmonary infections have largely focused on the use of antibiotics and have led to the rapid emergence of drug resistant and hypervirulent strains of pathogens. CPIRT will develop new strategies to study the host and the pathogen for both acute and chronic pulmonary infections. The Center’s research endeavors will seek to discover and map basic mechanisms by which pulmonary pathogens cause disease and translate its scientific outcomes in improved diagnostic and treatment modalities.

At its inception, CPIRT will initially focus its efforts in both explorative and targeted research relevant to pulmonary infection and immunity in 3 specific areas:

(1) To explore the basic science of key host-microbe molecular and cellular interactions in the lung;

(2) To investigate the mechanisms of infections which either cause or exacerbate acute / chronic lung diseases using both basic, translational, genomic and epidemiological approaches;

(3) To utilize and develop novel technologies that will make it possible to better diagnose and treat pernicious lung infections.

Objectives

CPIRT's objectives will seek to:

* Promote systematic and interdisciplinary research into the immunology and pathogenesis of pulmonary infections in animal models and human models;

* Bring together an integrated network of investigators who will develop, test and apply innovative interventions in respiratory infections;

* Establish a rich and diverse pool of patients cohorts with pulmonary infections for both research and clinical practice;

* Enhance preparedness for future outbreaks of respiratory infection;

* Educate the next generation of scientists and clinicians skilled in pulmonary infection research;

* Promote understanding and public awareness about the science of lung infection: prevention and treatment.

The Center will complement and further expand the other disease-research foci within the Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine Section, including current work in airway disease, interstitial lung disease, cystic fibrosis, sepsis, and mycobacterial infections. The Center will also integrate expertise from members of other Departments of the Yale University School of Medicine (Microbial Pathogenesis, Immunobiology, Pediatrics) and the Yale University School of Public Health (Microbial Diseases, Epidemiology). The Center will generate independent funding from federal sources, foundation grants, industry sponsors and patient donations. The Center will host a yearly State-of-the-Art symposium on pulmonary infection and immunity.

Summary

The Center for the Advancement of Pulmonary Infection Research and Treatment initially will be to bring together investigators from within the PCCSM section and from other cognate disciplines within Yale Medical School and Yale University whose strengths, expertise, and research and clinical interests interface with pulmonary infection, immunity and lung disease. Additionally, the Center will be at the forefront of educating and mentoring early career medical scientists, which includes clinical and postdoctoral fellows, residents and medical students.

This multidisciplinary Center will be an academic hub and international leader in advancing innovative and cutting-edge basic, translational and clinical research that will further the field’s understanding of pulmonary infections and lead to more effective diagnoses and treatments.

Research in Yale CPIRT will house a comprehensive research infrastructure that is aimed at understanding the important host-microbe interaction in the lung and how it affects acute and chronic lung diseases. These studies will explore the role of microbe and host factors in inflammation, innate and adaptive immunity, lung injury and repair responses, and post-infectious lung complications such as fibrosis.

Studies will combine cell-based assays, infection animal modeling, and human biospecimens obtained from subjects recruited from our Center and our local and outside collaborators. The group of well-funded investigators in the Center is from a wide range of discipline at Yale, each with substantial expertise in pulmonary infections.