Even with about 25,000 new cases diagnosed in the U.S. each year, IPF is considered a rare disease that often goes undiagnosed. It is precipitated by a range of factors, including genetics. Anne Kinder’s family knows these facts all too well. Sadly, Anne’s brother Rob recently succumbed to the disease, and Anne has had lung issues as well. She suspects that her father may also have died from IPF.

At the Houston Methodist Lung Center, teams of dedicated specialists strive to regulate — and even prevent — the most pressing pulmonary issues patients face. Dr. Zeenat Safdar, director of both the Lung Center and the Pulmonary Fibrosis Program, and other Lung Center experts not only provide patients with exceptional care but also conduct research to improve the prognosis for those experiencing debilitating pulmonary disease.

Recognizing the toll of such illness firsthand, Kinder recently made a generous gift to support funding toward establishing a new Lung Center comprehensive database. “Establishing this database will enable us to collect longitudinal medical histories and clinical and imaging data together with biomarker profiling on different lung diseases, providing for innovative and collaborative discovery,” says Dr. Safdar. “These findings will further drive investigation of novel therapeutic pathways.”

Additional philanthropic support from an anonymous donor in honor of Dr. Safdar will also fund high-impact research for treatments and even potential cures for pulmonary disease. Together, forward-thinking donors are breathing new life into the Lung Center’s critical work in advancing lifesaving interventions, accelerating groundbreaking studies and extending critical care to those who need it most.