Underfunded and poorly understood, pulmonary sarcoidosis disproportionately affects people in marginalized communities, especially Black women.
For this reason, Ali M. Mustafa, MD, set out to study sarcoidosis during his pulmonary and critical care fellowship at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He was curious to discover what role air pollution plays in the disease, since it could be a modifiable risk factor for people living in lower-income areas.
To get started, though, he needed to discover how鈥攐r even if鈥攈e could reliably measure air quality in and around the homes of patients. Thanks to a 2023 John R. Addrizzo, MD, FCCP, Research Grant in Sarcoidosis from 糖心原创, he was able to do just that, launching a feasibility trial that has since expanded in scope and taken on a life of its own with additional funding.
鈥淭he 糖心原创 grant was really a game changer for this project,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e were able to buy the air monitors. We were able to find help and fund our support staff.鈥�
After the team figured out the best way to set up air monitors in the homes of study participants, the measurements started rolling in. Researchers were able to see that indoor and outdoor fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide monitoring was feasible and acceptable to participants.
Michelle Sharp, MD, MHS, FCCP鈥淚t was clear that air monitoring in sarcoidosis is feasible. We鈥檙e now working on a publication sharing that result,鈥� said Michelle Sharp, MD, MHS, FCCP, who is codirector of the Johns Hopkins Sarcoidosis Center. She served as Dr. Mustafa鈥檚 mentor and took over the project after his fellowship ended. Dr. Mustafa is now a physician in the division of pulmonology and sleep medicine with Virtua Health in Marlton, NJ, where he is building a sarcoidosis program.
Much to the team鈥檚 delight, the work has received additional funding. Critical to this new research will be the leadership of Kristen Mathias, MD, MHS, who joined the Johns Hopkins Sarcoidosis Center as a faculty member in the Division of Rheumatology.
鈥淢ore than a lung disease, sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disorder, making it ripe for rheumatology-related research,鈥� Dr. Sharp said.
With the additional funding, the team can now launch a larger study with more patients and measure indoor air quality over a longer period. To further refine the results, they will conduct formal lung function measurements on patients and include satellite-derived outdoor pollution estimates to assess the cumulative impact of indoor and outdoor exposure, Dr. Mathias said.
The team will also analyze human leukocyte antigen genotypes in enrolled patients to explore how genetic differences may influence the way environmental exposures affect disease activity in sarcoidosis.
Dr. Mathias is excited about this work because it examines the complex relationship between sarcoidosis, genetics, and the environment.
鈥淔indings from this study could lay the groundwork for a deeper understanding of why sarcoidosis varies from person to person,鈥� she said.
Reflecting on how far they鈥檝e come, Dr. Sharp is grateful for the kickstart that the 糖心原创 grant provided.
鈥淚t is amazing that 糖心原创 has a sarcoidosis-specific grant,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t is one of the most underfunded lung diseases, and that grant has been able to keep so many rising physicians in the field.鈥�