---

From its beginning, the ATS Foundation has supported promising investigators determined to alleviate the suffering caused by respiratory disease, critical illness, and sleep disorders.

Help Colleagues Find Cures

The impact of the ATS Foundation Research Program is impressive. Over 200 investigators have received $16 million in awards, and these investments in their early career eventually resulted in $215 million in federal funding. In recent years there has been a growing strain on respiratory research because of a decrease in federal funding. Scientists across the board, particularly early career investigators, face increasing hurdles. Without the “seed” support of the ATS Foundation, many promising researchers may not have the opportunity to receive subsequent funding.

My fellow member of the ATS Board, Dean E. Schraufnagel, MD, is a leading TB researcher. Dr. Schraufnagel credits the Research Program with changing his life; in his fourth year of fellowship he was awarded a $12,000 grant from the ALA grant program, after which the ATS Foundation is modeled. Like him, Foundation awardees have gone on to establish laboratories, publish findings in rigorous journals, lead prominent institutions, mentor the next generation of physician-scientists, and develop innovative treatments for lung disease.

Darcy Wagner, PhD, is a 2016 grant recipient with a research focus in fibrosis. “When I look back, receiving the email saying that I had been awarded an ATS Foundation Research grant was one of the defining moments of my career,” she says.

Join Colleagues in the Assembly Challenge

The annual Assembly Challenge launched Nov. 28 on Giving Tuesday (Tuesday after Thanksgiving). This donation drive taps into the spirit of giving and of teamwork by rallying assemblies to support the ATS Foundation Funds for the Future Campaign. So far, the 2017 challenge is off to a stronger start than 2016. There are three ways your assembly can win the challenge:

• Raise more dollars for the 2017 Funds for the Future Campaign than any other assembly;

• Recruit the highest percentage of assembly members to participate in the 2017 Funds for the Future Campaign;

• Attract the highest number of first-time donors between Nov. 28 and Dec. 31, 2017.

Contributions also support core ATS programs, such as MECOR, Medical Education Research, the Ziskind Clinical Research Scholar Award, Assembly Awards and Scholarships. Gifts in any amount have weight. Because the Society supports all administrative costs of the ATS Foundation, 100 percent of your gift supports research.

Improve Our Odds

Thank you for your generosity and confidence in our community. We are unwavering in our belief in each other—and a shared vision of respiratory disease prevention, treatments, and cures.