The identification of biomarkers in a patient's blood or tissue that are specific for particular medical conditions (such as interstitial lung disease, chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), and post-lung transplant rejection) is important for the prevention and early detection of the disease, as well as to advance our understanding of targeted therapies. Availability of biomarkers for diagnosis and for the prediction of patient prognosis and therapy promises personalized medicine. Patients may be selected based on the presence of particular gene mutations or circulating protein levels to receive personalized treatment. Furthermore, knowledge regarding genetic risk and susceptibility to infectious diseases as well as structural lung disease is rapidly growing-as whole genome sequencing and genome-wide association studies have become easier to do, genetic risk has emerged as increasingly important in understanding why and how some patients develop chronic lung disease. This is true for the spectrum of lung diseases treated in the ALD program, from those with airways diseases such as COPD to diffuse parenchymal lung diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The availability of human biological specimens for research purposes is crucial for the advancement of medical knowledge of understanding, diagnosing, and treating chronic lung diseases and optimizing post-lung transplant care.
