As a member of the NHLBI panel updating the obesity treatment guidelines, it was clear that there has not been much systematic work on the relationship between the frequency of intervention contacts and the short and long-term effects on weight change and maintenance of weight change. The general finding that more frequent contacts with professional weight loss counselors, and a longer series of contacts, are more effective, ...more »

Sarcoidosis affects individuals of all races and ages and both genders, although it tends to cause significant morbidity and mortality for people in the prime of their productive life. Women, minorities and underserved populations tend to be more affected. Recent studies suggest that sarcoidosis and its severe manifestations, such as cardiac, neurologic and end stage pulmonary disease' are increasing, While the current ...more »

As a clinician, over the years I have noted major differences in adverse cardiovascular outcomes in diabetics who are treated with insulin +/- oral agents compared to those only treated with oral agents. Cardiovascular events occur much less often and at a much later timeframe in diabetics ("Type 2/adult onset") treated with insulin as the primary method. Even with newer agents, there may be slight improvement, but ...more »

How can we create precision diagnostics for COPD in practice settings that will help inform the transition from screening to better diagnosis and treatment strategies and that will help identify patients or communities at highest risk for unrecognized or over diagnosed COPD.

Develop simplified agressive acute asthma treatment protocol and promote the implementation for primary care, ED, Urgent care, Internists, Pediatricians, Allergists, Pulmonologists, and Families. Goal is to prevent hospitalization of children and adults with asthma. For example: 3 cycles of Duoneb and Albuterol, monitoring pulsoximetry, with oral / IM Dexamethasone dosage. Also initiation of controller medication at ...more »

Does a care coordination program improve the detection and treatment of co-morbid depression in patients with COPD?

Does treating depression improve survival and reduce major adverse cardiac events in acute coronary syndrome patients?

Can a multipronged approach to reversing/repairing scar tissue in pulmonary fibrosis be deployed as soon as possible?

Lead a coordinated effort of government, patient advocacy organizations, professional organizations, payers and others to plan and implement a coordinated plan to improve COPD awareness, education for patients and healthcare professionals, treatment strategies, research and data collection, policies and public health infrastructure and programs.

There is a critical need in congenital heart disease to assess longitudinal medical and psychosocial outcomes in older children and adults in the U.S. Current data in this area, particularly in the adult population, is limited to single center or small multicenter efforts or registry/population data from other countries. Understanding the long-term aspects of care is necessary not only to provide lifelong high quality ...more »

There are several possible physiological causes of Circadian Rhythm Sleep-Wake Disorders (CRSWDs), including lack of sensitivity to light, over-sensitivity to light, deficiencies in the ipRGC cells of the retina, lack of melatonin production, long elimination time of melatonin, long intrinsic circadian period, differences in timing of sleep relative to internal circadian rhythms, differences in tolerance to phase mismatch, ...more »