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May 10, 2017

VA researcher receives Trudeau Award from American Thoracic Society

Dr. Sharon I.S. Rounds, a physician and researcher with the Providence VA Medical Center, has been selected to receive the Trudeau Medal for lifetime achievement in the prevention and treatment of lung disease. The presentation will be made at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) conference in Washington D.C., on May 21, 2017.

Rounds, who is also professor of medicine and pathology and laboratory medicine at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, has a long history of serving Veterans through research and clinical care. She was chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine for 23 years and chief of the medical service for nine years at Providence VA Medical Center.

She is actively involved in research and is currently supported by multiple grants from both the public and private sectors. Among her current projects are the following:

• Cardio Pulmonary Vascular Biology Center of Biomedical Research Excellence
  The National Institute for General Medical Sciences through Ocean State Research Institute, Inc. awarded a $10.1 million, five-year grant to establish the Cardio Pulmonary Vascular Biology Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE). The goal is to improve understanding of the pathogenesis and treatment of pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases. Rounds serves as program director and leads a team of researchers at Providence VA Medical Center and Rhode Island Hospital.

Cardio Pulmonary Vascular Biology Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) 2015 Leadership Alliance Student Mentor Sharon I.S. Rounds M.D. (right) with Julie Newton (left) and student Mahogany Oldham (center), Malone University http://cpvb.org/faculty-and-staff/leadership-alliance-students/

• Tadalafil for Pulmonary Hypertension Associated with Chronic Lung Disease
  The VA Clinical Sciences Research and Development Service awarded a $750,000, five-year grant to conduct a multicenter clinical trial to determine the effect of tadalafil on pulmonary hypertension associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Dr. Ronald Goldstein is principal investigator and Rounds is co-principal investigator.
• Mechanisms of Cigarette Smoke-Induced Acute Lung Injury
  The VA Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development Service awarded an $800,000, four-year grant to investigate the mechanism of cigarette smoke-induced endothelial cell injury. Rounds is principal investigator.

As a long-standing member of the American Thoracic Society, Rounds has held multiple elected positions within the organization, notably vice president (2002-2003) and president (2004-2005). She is also a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Clinical and Climatological Association.

The Trudeau Medal was established in 1926 and is awarded in honor of Edward Livingston Trudeau, a founder and first president of the American Lung Association. It is given in recognition of lifetime achievement in the prevention and treatment of lung disease via leadership in research, education, and clinical care.

* Listen to Dr. Rounds discuss her research on acute lung injury.