Gary “Matt” Hunninghake, MD, MS
Dr. Hunninghake, is a pulmonologist, genetic epidemiologist, associate director for the Center for Pulmonary Functional Imaging, and the director of the Interstitial Lung Disease Program at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He completed medical school at the University of Iowa, residency and chief residency at Virginia Commonwealth University, and a pulmonary fellowship and a Master’s of Public Health at Harvard where he is now an Associate Professor of Medicine.
In addition, to caring for patient’s in the Intensive Care Unit, and in the Interstitial Lung Disease Clinic his research has been focused on identifying the factors that will help to diagnose early stages of pulmonary fibrosis. The overarching goal of this work is to target specific groups most likely to progress to pulmonary fibrosis with the hope preventing the more advanced stages of this incurable disease. He is the Principal Investigator or co-Principal Investigator on 3 R01 grants as well as the site-PI on numerous pharmaceutical sponsored clinical trials. This work has helped to change our understanding of early stages of pulmonary fibrosis and has led to the first international guidelines for the recommendation on reporting and following patients with evidence for early stages of this disease.
His grants have focused on three main themes including 1) defining the phenotype and risk factors that best help to predict early stages of pulmonary fibrosis and their progression, 2) genetic, genomic, and proteomic analyses that help to demonstrate the most important genes, and pathways associated with early pulmonary fibrosis development, and 3) screening studies to identify early-stage pulmonary fibrosis in families. The ultimate goal will be to consider targeted interventional efforts to reduce the progression of early stages of pulmonary fibrosis.
Dr. Hunninghake’s extensive research and clinical expertise in early-stage pulmonary fibrosis will be a valuable asset to B4 Symptoms. As an advisor, he will leverage his insights into risk factors, genetic markers, and early detection strategies to guide the development and refinement of B4 Symptoms’ solutions for managing for this complex disease.