Research
The American Lung Association supports basic and clinical research through training and seed grants for researchers who are in the early stage of their careers. Throughout its history, the American Lung Association has funded talented scientists who have furthered their careers in academia and lung research, and have made significant contributions to the fight against lung disease.
Asthma Clinical Research Centers
As part of its commitment to research, the American Lung Association created the Asthma Clinical Research Centers (ACRC) network, which seeks to conduct large clinical trials that will have a direct impact on patient care and asthma treatment.
The American Lung Association Asthma Clinical Research Centers (ACRC) network, with 20 clinical centers and a data-coordinating center, is the largest of its kind conducting clinical trials involving large numbers of subjects, and is playing a unique and vital role in asthma research.
The ACRC network is a desperately needed resource in asthma research. Asthma is a major and costly public health problem. Asthma can be life threatening if it is not properly managed. Over 22 million Americans currently have asthma. Approximately 3.8 million American children had an asthma attack in the past year. Asthma accounts for an estimated 14.5 million lost work days a year for people over 18 years of age and 14 million lost school days for children ages 5-17. The annual direct healthcare cost of asthma is approximately $11.5 billion.
