Department of Medicine Grand Rounds

TOPIC: "Asthma Heterogeneity and Severity: A Personalized Approach to Asthma Care"
SPEAKER: Dr. Eugene Bleecker

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Eugene R. Bleecker, MD, is a Professor of Medicine, Co-Director of the Division of Pharmacogenomics, and Co-Chief of the Division of Genetics, Genomics, and Precision Medicine in the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson. He has major scientific interest and expertise in translational approaches in allergy, asthma and COPD including defining clinical disease heterogeneity and biomarker endotypes, genetics of disease susceptibility and severity, pharmacogenetics of response to therapy and clinical trials. He has been Principal Investigator for site of the NHLBI Severe Asthma Research Program (SARP1,2 and current SARP3) grants, co-investigator on NHLBI AsthmaNet and has led a portion of the Harvard NIH Pharmacogenomics Network grant as well as being principal or co-investigator on multiple grants throughout his career. He has published over 325 manuscripts, 120 book chapters, editorials, and reviews as well as over 615 scientific abstracts.

Dr Bleecker was one of the first to publish on the genetic basis of asthma identifying susceptibility and severity genes. He published the largest study showing that common gene variants do not modulate responsiveness to long acting beta-agonist (LABA) (Bleecker et al, Lancet 2007) and has shown that rare variation in the ADRB2 gene is associated with severe exacerbations in asthmatics on LABA therapy (Ortega et al, Lancet Respir Med 2014).

Throughout his career, he have had an active role in designing and performing clinical trials that provide an evidence basis for therapeutic interventions in asthma including the NHLBI ACRN and AsthmaNet networks as well as industry studies. He is senior author on the TALC ACRN study that showed the therapeutic value of anticholinergics in asthma and triggered industry studies leading to the recent approval by the FDA of tiotropium for asthma (a therapy previously reserved for COPD) (Peters et al, NEJM 2010). He led the recent studies on the efficacy of an anti-IL5r (benralizumab) biologic therapy in severe asthma (Bleecker et al, Lancet 2016) and is co-principal investigator with Dr. Monica Kraft on the new NHLBI PRECISE grant.

Medicine Grand Rounds

The University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s) ™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

All Faculty, CME Planning Committee Members, and CME Office Reviewers have disclosed that they have no financial relationships with commercial interests that would constitute a conflict of interest concerning this CME activity.

Learning Objectives:

1. Diagnose a variety of internal medicine illnesses
2. Understand more clearly advances in therapy
3. Become truly professional physicians