海角社区

As a young woman, Stephania Cormier loved sports, especially basketball. She started as a center鈥攁 head above her peers in sixth grade. She ended as a guard鈥攁 head below as a high schooler. But throughout, she had difficulty competing because she couldn鈥檛 stop coughing. Her end game: sidelined, frustrated and huffing into a paper bag.

鈥淏ack then, asthma wasn鈥檛 adequately diagnosed,鈥� she said. 鈥淒octors put people on antibiotics with all of their side effects.鈥�

Cormier had to wait for relief until college, when she visited a pulmonologist in Lafayette. He prescribed an inhaler, the first medication that actually addressed the symptoms of her newly diagnosed disease: asthma.

Fast forward to today, Cormier is the Wiener Chair in 海角社区鈥檚 Department of Biological Sciences where she heads up a portfolio of biomedical research that scrutinizes asthma鈥檚 non-genetic causes and looks ahead to potential cures. Cormier is also a professor of comparative biomedical sciences at the 海角社区 School of Veterinary Medicine.

鈥淎sthma is controlled and controllable right now, but we can鈥檛 get rid of it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 want to know how it happens. If we know that, then we can stop it.鈥�

The breathless search

The shortness of breath associated with asthma attacks happens because airways have swelled and constricted. If you have a family history of asthma, you have a greater risk of developing the disease. That鈥檚 the genetic risk.

However, lung tissue damage as a result of pollution or illness plays a factor in many asthma cases. That鈥檚 where Cormier focuses:

What causes asthma besides genetics?

Cormier and her team of researchers probe the role of epithelial tissue damage due to respiratory viruses and pollutants. Epithelial tissue includes cilia, the hair-like structures that sweep away harmful particles. When this tissue and the cilia become damaged, the body鈥檚 exposure to harmful disease鈥攕pecifically asthma鈥攊ncreases.

Triggers for an attack can vary widely, ranging from cold air and physical activity to food allergies and airborne irritants. While asthma currently has no cure, both maintenance medications and 鈥渞escue inhalers鈥� can control the frequency of asthma attacks.

Baby鈥檚 breath

While her personal diagnosis certainly adds a sense of urgency for her current research, Cormier didn鈥檛 originally plan to delve into the asthma field. Her post-doctoral fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona centered on a staff physician鈥檚 project with chondrocytes, the cells found in cartilage tissue. However, when that researcher left Mayo, she had to find another sponsor. Luck, fate鈥攐r whatever you want to call it鈥攊ntervened.

鈥淭he guy across the hall was working on asthma,鈥� she laughed, explaining how she suddenly switched to a new, but familiar, research path.

With her new supervisor across the hall, she studied the history of respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV, and its links to asthma. Cormier learned about the tragic history of a 1960s vaccination trial against RSV that resulted in the hospitalization of 80 percent of participants and the death of two babies.

Where others saw a failure in the chemistry of the vaccine, she saw an opportunity to re-examine the vaccine recipients.

鈥淭hey were studying the wrong models,鈥� she said, referring to that vaccine鈥檚 development based on the way an adult body functions and responds to illness. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 study an infant

disease in an adult. Infants are not fully developed. They鈥檙e so susceptible.鈥�

Since then, her collaborations with scientists across 海角社区 and at the University of Tennessee Health Center have uncovered the reasons why assaults on the infant immune and lung systems because of RSV and pollution often have lifelong health effects.

Her exploration of pollution includes joint research projects conducted through 海角社区鈥檚 Superfund Research Center, where she serves as director. The center focuses on how environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs)鈥攖he pollutant particles found in hazardous waste cleanup or containment sites鈥攆orm and how to mitigate their impact.

鈥淥ur research supports a greater understanding of the relationship between lung health and pollution. Outside of the world of science it pushes regulations that aim to reform the environmental impact of polluting industries,鈥� said biological sciences major Felix Harrison, an 海角社区 student who serves as a research assistant in Cormier鈥檚 lab.

Hold your breath?

While Cormier and her team search for the vaccines and medications that will cure the non-genetic causes of asthma, there are several ways that average people can reduce their risk.

Research has found that infants are less likely to get sick if they are breastfed and if their caregivers wash hands frequently. The microbiomes passed from mother to child via vaginal delivery also help to protect babies.

To avoid EPFRs, stay away from major roadways and other known sources of pollution. You should also wear a mask on high-pollution days. The good news is that the Louisiana diet鈥攂lueberries, pecans, red beans鈥攊s rich with antioxidants, which protect against pollution鈥檚 damage. 鈥淩ed beans and rice on Mondays. So far that鈥檚 the best we can do,鈥� Cormier said. Her lab is examining how to isolate the protective antioxidant properties found in these foods to create medicinal supplements that can make a difference.

Breathe easier

According to data from the University of Chicago鈥檚 Energy Policy Institute, the average human would live 2.6 years more if deadly pollutants were eradicated.  In the United States, the average resident loses less than 1 year of life to pollution. But scientists like Cormier seek ways to bring that number to 0.

鈥淩esearch work is a long, time-consuming process, and you naturally want results as soon as you can get them,鈥� said biological science major Alexander Scotty, another 海角社区 student who works with Cormier. 鈥淚t鈥檚 rarely that simple, and you have to hope you can find a piece of the puzzle that will make it easier for yourself鈥攐r someone else鈥攊n the future.鈥�