American Asthma Foundation

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American Asthma Foundation
Abbreviation AAF
Headquarters San Francisco, CA, U.S.
Slogan Because Breath is Life
Website

The American Asthma Foundation (AAF) is a national advocacy group funding basic research focused on asthma. The mission of the American Asthma Foundation, a non-profit organization, is to improve treatment, prevent, and find a cure for asthma, a chronic lung condition affecting 25 million Americans.[1]

To achieve its mission, the American Asthma Foundation underwrites an international grants program to attract researchers who will undertake asthma-related investigations. The American Asthma Foundation Research Program, formerly the Strategic Program for Asthma Research (SPAR), supports asthma research by providing multi-year awards to scientists submitting innovative proposals.[2][3]

Board of directors

The American Asthma Foundation’s Board of Directors consists of Chairman, Marion O. Sandler, Dr. Madeleine K. Albright, Susan V. Berresford, William K. Bowes, Jr., Bernard Osher, Lewis S. Ranieri, Anthony D. Romero, and Diane B. Wilsey.

Scientific Advisory Board

The American Asthma Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) selects the research funded by the AAF. Members of the SAB represent a broad range of scientific disciplines.[4][5]

Research Program

The American Asthma Foundation Research Program (AAFRP) funds investigators conducting basic research projects that could ultimately result in improved treatments, new forms of prevention, and a cure for asthma. The annual solicitation of proposals is open to researchers in the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Israel, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Awardees have come from a wide range of fields and disciplines, including biology, epidemiology, immunology, medicine, pathology, pharmacology, physiology, chemistry, and neurology.[6] The American Asthma Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board engages in an annual review of grant applications to ensure they meet the AAF’s criteria for outstanding science and creative thinking.

Since 2000, the American Asthma Foundation Research Program has awarded more than $80 million in research grants, including awards made in 2011. Most grants are for three years and typically amount to $750,000 for senior investigators and $450,000 for more junior researchers who have demonstrated early excellence. The annual solicitation for research proposals concludes in February with awards announced in June.[7][8][9]

Through 2011, the American Asthma Foundation Research Program results have included:

  • Number of research breakthroughs: 26; 14 are in development with pharmaceutical companies and four of these are in clinical trials[10][11][12]
  • Amount of additional funding that resulted from work done under AAF grants: $36 million
  • Number of publications in prestigious journals: 213[13][14][15][16][17][18][19]

References

  1. ↑ AAF Homepage
  2. ↑ American Asthma Foundation Research Program
  3. ↑ American Asthma Foundation Research Program administrative website homepage
  4. ↑ AAF Scientific Advisory Board
  5. ↑ American Asthma Foundation Research Program administrative website Scientific Advisory Board listing
  6. ↑ American Asthma Foundation Research Program administrative website awardees and abstracts
  7. ↑ American Asthma Foundation Research Program administrative website description of awards
  8. ↑ Interview with awardee at the University of Iowa, August 1, 2008
  9. ↑ Announcement regarding research award to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, July 9, 2008
  10. ↑ American Asthma Foundation Research Program Breakthrough Research
  11. ↑ American Asthma Foundation Research Program Release “Major Asthma Research Discovery Could Lead to New Drugs: Findings Licensed to Biotechnology Firm”
  12. ↑ La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology Release “La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology Signs Exclusive License Agreement with Medimmune on Major Asthma Discovery”
  13. ↑ American Asthma Foundation Research Program Release “Research Finding Could Revolutionize Asthma Treatment: Use of Beta Blockers May Have Long-Term Benefits”
  14. ↑ University of Houston Release “New Asthma Research Opposes Current Drug Treatment”
  15. ↑ Nguyen LP, Lin R, Parra S, et al. (February 2009). "Beta2-adrenoceptor signaling is required for the development of an asthma phenotype in a murine model". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 106 (7): 2435–40. doi:10.1073/pnas.0810902106. PMC 2650174. PMID 19171883. 
  16. ↑ American Asthma Foundation Research Program Release “American Asthma Foundation Announces Breakthrough Discovery: Common House Dust Mites Trigger Asthma Attacks by Tricking the Immune System”
  17. ↑ Trompette A, Divanovic S, Visintin A, et al. (January 2009). "Allergenicity resulting from functional mimicry of a Toll-like receptor complex protein". Nature 457 (7229): 585–8. doi:10.1038/nature07548. PMC 2843411. PMID 19060881. 
  18. ↑ Camateros P, Tamaoka M, Hassan M, et al. (June 2007). "Chronic asthma-induced airway remodeling is prevented by toll-like receptor-7/8 ligand S28463". Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 175 (12): 1241–9. doi:10.1164/rccm.200701-054OC. PMID 17400732. 
  19. ↑ Seibold MA, Wang B, Eng C, et al. (September 2008). "An african-specific functional polymorphism in KCNMB1 shows sex-specific association with asthma severity". Hum. Mol. Genet. 17 (17): 2681–90. doi:10.1093/hmg/ddn168. PMC 2733805. PMID 18535015. 

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