The month of May is Asthma and Allergy Awareness month.  We take this opportunity to celebrate all the pulmonologists that the Will Rogers Institute has worked with since creating a research and training center at the former Will Rogers Memorial Hospital (a tuberculosis treatment and rehabilitation center).

As we know from the COVID-19 news, the infectious disease doctors and research scientists are on the front lines for fighting the virus.  Regardless of a health professional’s area of expertise in lung health or the immune system, all have joined the fight.

An example of such an expert is Will Rogers Institute grant recipient, Dr. Steven Dubinett, at the University of California Los Angeles.

Dr. Dubinett is professor of medicine, pathology and laboratory medicine, and professor of molecular and medical pharmacology at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He is also chief of pulmonary, critical care, sleep medicine, clinical immunology and allergy at UCLA, as well as associate vice chancellor and senior associate dean for translational research.  Dr. Dubinett is recognized for helping advance academic, clinical and community partnerships designed to accelerate scientific discoveries and clinical breakthroughs that benefit the health of people around the world.

His involvement with the COVID-19 crisis is conducting research that enables the exploration of the pathogenesis and transmission of the coronavirus family, including COVID-19.  Additionally, his team of prominent physician scientists will look to develop novel treatments for this devastating virus.   

COVID-19 provokes hyperactivation of the immune system which causes damage to the lung tissue and can cause respiratory failure.  Because of this impact on the respiratory system, research findings may translate to treatments for other lung diseases.