Sarah Sayner, Ph.D., associate professor of physiology and cell biology at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, recently received the 2020 USA Center for Lung Biology Murray Bander Faculty Development Award. Given each year, the award seeks to foster innovative discoveries in pulmonary research and promote faculty development.
As a member of the USA Center for Lung Biology, Sayner’s research seeks to understand why men are more susceptible to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) than women. Her work examines the endogenous soluble adenylyl cyclase isoform 10 (AC10), which regulates pulmonary endothelial permeability.
Bacterial and viral pneumonia are common causes of ARDS.
“Males have a 30 percent higher age-adjusted ARDS-related mortality rate compared to females,” she said. “However, the etiology behind this gender disparity is unclear. Understanding these gender differences might help us to better treat patients with ARDS, which is important since there are still not targeted therapies to treat these patients.”
Murray Bander, a World War II veteran who moved from New York to Mobile to operate a clothing shop, died from complications of pneumonia in 2001. He left his estate to the USA College of Medicine in 2003, and the Murray Bander Endowment for the Center for Lung Biology was established to support scholarly activities in lung biology.
