They are among more than 3,500 ASCI members, 48 of whom are current, full-time faculty members of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

IPF is one of the most common forms of pulmonary fibrosis, an interstitial lung disease characterized by the progressive accumulation of scar tissue (fibrosis) in the epithelial lining of the airways.

The center was created earlier this year to save the lives of patients waiting for a transplant and improve outcomes for patients after they receive a transplant.

The awards support research efforts to identify optimal approaches to improving health care and health outcomes for patients, families and the community.

Approximately 1% of the U.S. population — 2 million to 3 million adults — experience critical illness requiring the placement of a breathing tube each year.

Three grants, totaling over $22 million, were awarded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and will be led by a team of VUMC investigators.

The research focused on the very early stages of FPF, a serious progressive lung disease where for unknown reasons scar tissue builds up in the lungs over time.