Our Research
The Lung Graft-versus-Host Disease Consortium is a collaboration between Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Stanford University, and MD Anderson Cancer Center, and others, with a goal to understand and combat lung graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and related lung diseases in patients with hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT). These conditions include bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), organizing pneumonia and other interstitial lung diseases, early acute lung injury syndromes (such as idiopathic pneumonia syndrome), and infectious pneumonia and complications through the lifespan of the HCT recipient.
One of the founding projects in this Consortium is led by Dr. Guang-Shing Cheng, who is the lead investigator of an NIH-sponsored study investigating the role of respiratory viral infection on the development of BOS after HCT.
Vision
To eliminate suffering due to lung disease in hematopoietic cell transplant recipients.
Mission
- To advance scientific knowledge and clinical care patients with lung disease after hematopoietic cell transplant through multidisciplinary collaborative research.
- To train the next generation of clinicians/scientists in this field.
Executive Committee
American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference 2022, San Francisco. From left: Drs. Husham Sharifi, Guang-Shing Cheng, Joe Hsu, and Ajay Sheshadri. Drs. Greg Yanik and Anne Bergeron are not present.
Guang-Shing Cheng, MD
Faculty Profile
Provider Profile
Dr. Cheng’s clinical research lab is focused on early detection, prevention, and treatment of BOS. The early detection program centers around the use of remote telemonitoring with home spirometry, with the aim of integrating this modality for monitoring of high-risk patients after HCT. The lab is also studying i) the role of respiratory viral infections in the development of BOS and other manifestations of lung dysfunction in patients with chronic GVHD, and ii) infectious pneumonia in the immunocompromised host in collaboration with the Infectious Diseases Sciences program lead by Dr. Michael Boeckh. Dr. Cheng is the Medical Director of the Pulmonary Consult Service and Pulmonary Function Laboratory at FHCC and works closely with Dr. Stephanie Lee and Dr. Paul Carpenter of the Long Term Follow Up service to provide care and clinical trial protocols to patients with lung GVHD.
Greg Yanik, MD
Dr. Greg Yanik is the Leland and Elaine Blatt Professor of Pediatric Oncology and the Director of the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Program at University of Michigan. Dr. Yanik has extensive experience conducting clinical trials in adult and pediatric transplant recipients, including etanercept for idiopathic pneumonia syndrome. He is conducting a longitudinal Consortium-wide study with Dr. Craig Galban in the use of parametric response mapping for the early detection of chronic lung injury (lung GVHD) after HCT.
Joe Hsu, MD, MPH
Dr. Joe Hsu, Assistant Professor of Medicine in Pulmonary and Critical Care, directs the Lung GVHD Clinic at Stanford University, which evaluates and manages over 100 new patients annually. He directs a translational and bench laboratory research program on pulmonary diseases in immunocompromised populations. He also conducted a Phase I trial (STOP-BOS) of pirfenidone in patients with BOS after HCT.
Ajay Sheshadri, MD, MSCI
Dr. Ajay Sheshadri, Associate Professor of Pulmonary Medicine at MD Anderson Cancer Center, conducts a clinical and translational research program focused on inflammatory airways and parenchymal lung disease in the context of HCT and cancer therapies. His interests includes investigating the correlation between nasal inflammatory signals and lower tract airways disease in HCT recipients, as well as home spirometry, quantitative imaging, and prediction models for viral pneumonia in immunocompromised hosts.
Husham Sharifi, MD
Dr. Husham Sharifi, Assistant Professor in Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, co-directs the Lung GVHD Clinic at Stanford University, utilizing his background in engineering and bioinformatics to incorporate advanced computational analysis to clinical metadata and quantitative imaging data to Lung GVHD patients with pulmonary complications after life-saving hematopoietic cell transplant.
Anne Bergeron, MD, Ph.D.
Pulmonology Division at Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève
Dr. Anne Bergeron is Professor of Pulmonology and Head of the Pulmonology Division at Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, in Geneva, Switzerland and serves as a scientific advisor to the Lung GVHD Consortium. Her current clinical, academic and research expertise includes both infectious and noninfectious lung complications in hematology patients, including hematopoietic stem cell transplant, with a special interest in both fungal and viral infections in this population. Dr. Bergeron has conducted several seminal observational and interventional trials in BOS, including a randomized controlled trial on the use of inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting beta-agonist in patients with new onset BOS, which is the first trial to demonstrate efficacy of an agent in this disease.
Jane Turner, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine at McMaster University, Ontario, Canada
Bio: Dr. Jane Turner is an Assistant Professor in the Respirology Division at McMaster University. She co-directs care of lung GVHD patients, having sought out specialized training in this field at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, and is actively engaged in research to further knowledge on early diagnosis and treatment of BOS. She is currently the Principal Investigator on MRI-BOS, a prospective study evaluating Xenon MRI for the early detection of BOS.
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