Announcing Andrew A. Wilson MD as the Alpha-1 Foundation's new Scientific Director

CORAL GABLES, Fla., Dec. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Alpha-1 Foundation announces the appointment of Andrew A. Wilson, MD as its new Scientific Director. Dr. Wilson assumes this role with a long-standing passion and commitment to the Alpha-1 community.

As a pulmonary and critical care clinician-scientist with a focus on regenerative medicine and stem cell biology, Dr. Wilson's goal is to advance understanding of and treatment for genetic causes of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the most common genetic cause of COPD, Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (Alpha-1). He has been an active member of the Alpha-1 community since 2006, serving as the head of the Clinical Resource Center (CRC) at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, member of the Grant Advisory Committee (GAC) and member of the Research Registry Working Group. Dr Wilson is also site Principal Investigator of the Alpha-1 Biomarkers Consortium (A1BC) study and also of the Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency Adult Clinical and Genetic Linkage Study at Boston University.

"I am honored and humbled to have been selected as the new Scientific Director of the Alpha-1 Foundation. Many researchers who are currently working on Alpha-1 research, myself included, probably wouldn't be doing so if it were not for the support they have received from the Alpha-1 Foundation over the years. In the same vein, having an organized patient community is key since translational research relies upon access to patients with the disease. Researchers must be able to find patients. We are fortunate that Alphas are so enthusiastic and generous in their participation in research. I hope that as Scientific Director I will be able to help the Foundation to advance its mission and work towards a cure for AATD."

For more information, visit https://www.alpha1.org/

Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (Alpha-1) is a genetic (inherited) condition that is passed from parents to their children through their genes. Alpha-1 may result in serious lung disease in adults and/or liver disease at any age. The Alpha-1 Foundation, founded in 1995, is committed to finding a cure for Alpha-1 and to improving the lives of people affected by Alpha-1 worldwide. The Foundation has invested over $91 million to support Alpha-1 research and programs at 128 institutions in North America, Europe, South America, the Middle East, and Australia.

SOURCE Alpha-1 Foundation