Our Research Team
Frank C. Sciurba, M.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine
Director, Emphysema Research Center
Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
Biography
Sciurba’s name is well known in COPD circles. He’s written two of the most widely cited original research papers—over the last 20 years—on this chronic disease. He’s also given many presentations on clinical and research strategies regarding COPD at workshops sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
Bench-to-bedside research is very much part of Sciurba’s practice. He believes it’s essential for him and his peers to offer sincere hope to patients by assuring them that cutting-edge molecular techniques are being applied to solve the many remaining mysteries of their respiratory illnesses. Providing such encouragement is the biggest factor driving his work.
Over the course of his career, Sciurba has tried to bridge the cultural divide that exists between doctors and scientists—a gulf surprisingly not unlike what the scientific world faces with the general public. Sciurba recognizes the importance of learning the language of scientists, while providing them with opportunities to better understand and respect how disease presentation, such as signs and symptoms, can vary among individuals. This approach has already yielded fruitful scientific discoveries, and he expects even more from collaborative efforts such as the LGRC.
Sciurba’s role within the consortium will be to carefully categorize the tissue samples of participating patients and analyze them for, in particular, shared clinical characteristics. This will give researchers a clearer idea of the unique biological mechanisms that influence the progression of disease, he says, and ultimately lead to personalized therapies that target, halt, or reverse these mechanisms or abnormalities.
