Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive and potentially fatal lung disease, and is a leading cause of death in both the U.S. and China. COPD is most commonly caused by direct smoke exposure and indoor air pollution caused by combustion of biomass fuels. There is currently no curative treatment for COPD. This research aims at determining the respiratory microbiome in healthy non-smokers, “healthy” smokers, and smokers with COPD at various stages, and to determine if a particular microbiome signature is associated with COPD. Data will be collected at both Michigan Medicine and PKUSHC to compare populations. Many factors that are thought to affect the pulmonary microbiome, such as smoking history, BMI, diet, antibiotic use, and use of biomass fuels in cooking 

• 3 PKUHSC faculty members received extensive training at Michigan Medicine mentored by Dr. Gyetko.
• 1 UMMS resident completed a one-month clinical rotation at PKUHSC mentored by Dr. He.
• Awarded $600,000 from United Health Group & NHLBI Collaborating Centers.
• Completed a multi-national project that included PKU and U-M.

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