Waiting to Exhale

Asthma pioneers breathe new life into research.

Asthma is the most common chronic disease in westernized countries; in the United States alone, it afflicts 15 million people. Recently, two asthma-research pioneers at Duke University Medical Center—Julia Walker, an assistant professor of pulmonary medicine, and Robert Lefkowitz, a professor of cardiology and biochemistry—made significant headway in understanding the disease’s pernicious pathology, which has flummoxed researchers and drug companies for generations. The results of their study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, could lead to better treatment options for asthma sufferers.

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