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The Will Rogers Institute's mission is to perpetuate the memory of Will Rogers by promoting and engaging in medical research pertaining to cardiopulmonary diseases and educating the public on topics of health and fitness. It is named for actor and comedian Will Rogers, who died in a plane crash in 1935.
The Institute supports research programs that study debilitating pulmonary disorders. These programs provide pulmonary rehabilitation at academic and medical centers across the country. These programs also provide neonatal ventilators to needy hospitals so that not one baby suffers or dies because of the lack of a proper ventilation system. For over 30 years, the Will Rogers Institute has been a leader in health-related public service announcements that appear on movie screens and television and are heard on radio stations across the United States and provide free health booklets and materials.
Each summer in movie theaters across the country, the Will Rogers Institute embarks upon a special fund-raising event - the Summer Theatrical Fund-Raising Campaign - that raises money for pulmonary research, medical school fellowships, neonatal ventilators and education. The summer campaign is a time-honored tradition that began in 1936 and starred James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Bette Davis, and recently has been hosted by celebrities such as Anthony Hopkins, Tommy Lee Jones, The Rock and Geena Davis.
After viewing the theatrical public service announcement, moviegoers support the Institute by making a donation or purchasing a special combo pack at the movie theatere's concession stand. The generosity of movie patrons - with the support and dedication of movie theaters, movie studios, and sponsors - has enabled Will Rogers Institute to collect over $90 million for its causes.
The Institute awards an Annual Prize for Research to scientists who have made seminal contributions to the understanding or treatment of pulmonary diseases. The Prize includes a $50,000 cash award. Initiated in 2007, the Annual Prize for Research has been awarded three times.
Francis Collins, present director of the NIH, was the first to receive the prize, which honored his discovery of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator encoding gene CFTR, mutated in cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease commonly found in Caucasian populations and often accompanied by severe pulmonary manifestations.
Peter Agre, recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, was recognized with the Will Rogers Institute Annual Prize for Research in 2008 for his discovery of aquaporins: proteins that allow water molecules to cross biological membranes, and thereby play a vitally important role in epithelial physiology (including the physiology of pulmonary epithelium).
Bruce Beutler received the prize in 2009 for isolating tumor necrosis factor (TNF), demonstrating its central role in inflammation, and subsequently discovering the receptor for lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a member of the Toll-like receptor family. This work revealed the key innate immune receptors through which mammals sense infection.
Anthony Fauci received the 2011 prize for his pioneering work in the field of HIV/AIDS research.
A respiratory therapist is a specialized healthcare practitioner trained in critical care and cardio-pulmonary medicine in order to work therapeutically with people who have acute critical conditions, cardiac and pulmonary disease. Respiratory therapists graduate from a college or university with a degree in respiratory therapy and have passed a national board certifying examination. The NBRC is responsible for credentialing as a CRT, or RRT,
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. The hallmark feature of CF is the accumulation of thick mucus in different organs. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections. Other signs and symptoms may include sinus infections, poor growth, fatty stool, clubbing of the fingers and toes, and infertility in most males. Different people may have different degrees of symptoms.
The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) is one of the institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health, an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Pulmonology, pneumology or pneumonology is a medical specialty that deals with diseases involving the respiratory tract. It is also known as respirology, respiratory medicine, or chest medicine in some countries and areas.
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center is a public academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 23,000 employees, more than 3,000 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient visits per year, UT Southwestern is the largest medical school in the University of Texas System and the State of Texas.
Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is a membrane protein and anion channel in vertebrates that is encoded by the CFTR gene.
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is a chronic lung disease which affects premature infants. Premature (preterm) infants who require treatment with supplemental oxygen or require long-term oxygen are at a higher risk. The alveoli that are present tend to not be mature enough to function normally. It is also more common in infants with low birth weight (LBW) and those who receive prolonged mechanical ventilation to treat respiratory distress syndrome. It results in significant morbidity and mortality. The definition of bronchopulmonary dysplasia has continued to evolve primarily due to changes in the population, such as more survivors at earlier gestational ages, and improved neonatal management including surfactant, antenatal glucocorticoid therapy, and less aggressive mechanical ventilation.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), or (formerly) fibrosing alveolitis, is a rare, progressive illness of the respiratory system, characterized by the thickening and stiffening of lung tissue, associated with the formation of scar tissue. It is a type of chronic scarring lung disease characterized by a progressive and irreversible decline in lung function. The tissue in the lungs becomes thick and stiff, which affects the tissue that surrounds the air sacs in the lungs. Symptoms typically include gradual onset of shortness of breath and a dry cough. Other changes may include feeling tired, and abnormally large and dome shaped finger and toenails. Complications may include pulmonary hypertension, heart failure, pneumonia or pulmonary embolism.
Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital is a pediatric acute care children's teaching hospital located in Cleveland, Ohio. It is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and has a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), and level 1 pediatric trauma center.
Angiotensin II receptor type 2, also known as the AT2 receptor is a protein that in humans is encoded by the AGTR2 gene.
Mary Ellen Beck Wohl was Chief of the Division of Respiratory Diseases at Children's Hospital Boston, and served as Associate Director of the General Clinical Research Center until 2002. Since the 1962, when she first joined the staff at Children's Hospital, Wohl specialized in the respiratory diseases of children. She was also a leader in the field of clinical research on cystic fibrosis. She developed a number of techniques to evaluate the function of the lungs in young children and is the author of many research papers in this field.
Brigid L. M. Hogan FRS is a British developmental biologist noted for her contributions to mammalian development, stem cell research and transgenic technology and techniques. She is currently a Professor in the Department of Cell Biology at Duke University, Born in the UK, she became an American citizen in 2000.
East Tennessee Children's Hospital is a private, independent, not-for-profit, 152-bed pediatric medical center in Knoxville, Tennessee. The hospital's primary service area includes 16 counties in East Tennessee, and its secondary service area includes counties in southwest Virginia, southeast Kentucky and western North Carolina.
Pulmonary rehabilitation, also known as respiratory rehabilitation, is an important part of the management and health maintenance of people with chronic respiratory disease who remain symptomatic or continue to have decreased function despite standard medical treatment. It is a broad therapeutic concept. It is defined by the American Thoracic Society and the European Respiratory Society as an evidence-based, multidisciplinary, and comprehensive intervention for patients with chronic respiratory diseases who are symptomatic and often have decreased daily life activities. In general, pulmonary rehabilitation refers to a series of services that are administered to patients of respiratory disease and their families, typically to attempt to improve the quality of life for the patient. Pulmonary rehabilitation may be carried out in a variety of settings, depending on the patient's needs, and may or may not include pharmacologic intervention.
The Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences is intended to recognize breakthrough research in pure or applied life science research that is distinguished by its excellence, originality and impact on our understanding of biological systems and processes. The award may recognize a specific contribution or series of contributions that demonstrate the nominee's significant leadership in the development of research concepts or their clinical application. Particular emphasis will be placed on research that champions novel approaches and challenges accepted thinking in the biomedical sciences.
Cystic Fibrosis Canada is one of national charitable but not-for-profit corporation established in 1960. Cystic Fibrosis Canada's mandate is to help individuals with cystic fibrosis, principally by funding cystic fibrosis research and care. The organization also provides educational materials for the cystic fibrosis community and the general public; undertakes advocacy initiatives with, and on behalf of Canadians with cystic fibrosis, and raises funds to support its programs.
The Canadian Lung Association is a national organization and volunteer-based health charity that supports lung health research, education, prevention of disease/disorders and advocacy in Canada.
Anh Tuan Dinh-Xuan is a French researcher, doctor and university professor. He manages the hospital department of Physiology - Practical examinations at Cochin hospital in Paris. His research concerns the physiology of the respiratory system and the physiopathology of pulmonary diseases.
Underrepresented populations, especially black and hispanic populations with cystic fibrosis are often not successfully diagnosed. This is in part due to the minimal dissemination of existing data on patients from these underrepresented groups. While white populations do appear to experience a higher frequency of cystic fibrosis, other ethnicities are also affected and not always by the same biological mechanisms. Thus, many healthcare and treatment options are less reliable or unavailable to underrepresented populations. This issue affects the level at which public health needs are being met across the world.
Michael James Welsh is an American pulmonologist. He is the current Roy J. Carver Chair in Biomedical Research, the Professor of Internal Medicine in Pulmonary, Critical Care and Occupational Medicine at the Department of Internal Medicine, and the Director of Pappajohn Biomedical Institute, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa. He is also a professor at the Department of Neurosurgery, Department of Neurology, and Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. He received the 2022 Shaw Prize in Life science and Medicine, together with Paul A. Negulescu, for their work that uncovered the etiology of cystic fibrosis and developed effective medications.