Addressing Sinus Infections Through Genetic Mutation

Dr. Eugene Chang (middle back) with his lab staff: Joey Irish, Ray Lee, Eric Lee and Sunny Palumbo outside the Medical Research Building on the UArizona Health Sciences Campus in Tucson. (Photo: Kris Hanning/University of Arizona Health Sciences)
UA Health Sciences

Sinus infections are one of the most common illnesses, so identifying the progression of the common cold to chronic disease lasting longer than 12 weeks is critical in creating therapies that slow the development of a disease affecting nearly 12% of U.S. adults each year. A group lead by Dr. Eugene Chang, vice chair and associate professor in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the UArizona College of Medicine, was awarded $2.24 million to study a protein in the respiratory tract with a genetic variation strongly associated with these ailments.