Highlights
- The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute awarded Arizona State University $233,854 under project 1R21HL184214-01.
- PI Heather Bean will analyze data from the IMPACT-Breath clinical study to identify breath biomarkers of S. aureus infections in cystic fibrosis patients.
- The R21 exploratory grant runs from May 25, 2026 through April 30, 2027.
- Bean's lab has prior published work on breath-based detection of both S. aureus and P. aeruginosa lung infections, per PubMed and the lab's own research pages.
The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute has awarded Arizona State University's Tempe campus $233,854 to develop non-invasive breath tests capable of detecting Staphylococcus aureus lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients, according to the NIH ExPORTER database.
Principal investigator Heather Denise Bean will conduct a secondary analysis of data from the IMPACT-Breath clinical study, searching for volatile organic compounds in exhaled breath that reliably signal S. aureus presence. The approach sidesteps the need for sputum cultures or bronchoscopies, which are burdensome for patients with compromised lung function.
The award, project number 1R21HL184214-01, is structured as an R21 exploratory grant, a mechanism NIH uses for early-stage, higher-risk research that does not yet have the preliminary data required for a full R01. The project period runs from May 25, 2026 through April 30, 2027.
Bean's lab has prior published research on breath-based pathogen detection. A PubMed-indexed study examined breath VOC profiles for detecting S. aureus in cystic fibrosis patients, and a separate paper documented robust detection of both P. aeruginosa and S. aureus acute lung infections using secondary electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The Bean Lab's research page lists breath tests for lung infections as an active research focus.
Results from the IMPACT-Breath data analysis are expected before the grant closes April 30, 2027.
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- reporter.nih.gov retrieved 01/06/2026 03:06
- the-bean-lab.com retrieved 01/06/2026 03:06
- pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov retrieved 01/06/2026 03:06
- pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov retrieved 01/06/2026 03:06
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 01/06/2026 03:06. Every claim traces to a source.
