Research Activities

Dr. Peter Heymann has a career interest in the interaction between human rhinovirus infection and allergy in the pathobiology of childhood asthma. Dr. Heymann is funded by the NIH to administer human rhinovirus experimentally to young adults with mild asthma and test the effects of an antibody directed against the allergic immune response (IgE) in mediating the clinical manifestations of experimental human rhinovirus infection.

Dr. Deborah Froh heads a team of study coordinators in a strong clinical trials program funded by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to develop novel therapies to treat cystic fibrosis lung disease and other complications. Patients who receive care in our CF Center have access to cutting edge new treatments through this program.

Dr. W. Gerald Teague and his team of study coordinators have a strong interest in mechanisms of severe asthma in children and are long-term members of three national clinical trial networks, the American Lung Association’s Asthma Clinical Research Center, the NIH/NHLBI AsthmaNet consortium, and the NIH/NHLBI Severe Asthma Research Program. Thus children with asthma who are referred to the Division have access to ongoing clinical trials conducted through these networks. In particular, children with severe asthma referred to Drs. Teague and Wisniewski in the Severe Asthma Clinic (SAC) at Northridge are enrolled in a program that provides state of the art evaluation and treatment that includes novel imaging, lung function, and assessment of airway inflammation.

Dr. Teague also participates in a collaborative program with Dr. Talissa Altes in the Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging to study the utility of hyperpolarized helium 3 magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis and treatment of wheezing disorders in pre-school children.