David McCulley, MD, Principal Investigator, along with Shaoqin Gong, PhD, and Naomi Chesler, PhD, UW College of Engineering, were recently awarded a $50,000 pilot grant from the UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR). In their one-year project, entitled “Targeted Treatment for Pulmonary Hypertension Associated with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia,” they plan to develop and test a novel drug targeting approach utilizing the foundation of direct patient care experience and improved understanding of the genetic and molecular basis of pulmonary hypertension. The central hypothesis is that microparticle-targeted delivery of agents, such as Y-27632, to the dysfunctional pulmonary vascular smooth cells, will improve their therapeutic benefit and reduce pulmonary hypertension, while minimizing systemic side effects in infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). Infants with CDH often do not survive after birth due to abnormal development of the lungs and pulmonary vasculature causing lethal pulmonary hypoplasia and pulmonary hypertension.