For decades, scientists have thought they understood the biochemical machinery that causes asthma—inflammation in the lungs that constricts airways and makes it hard to breathe. But researchers from Case Western Reserve University think "leukotrienes"—chemicals that get released from white blood cells when something irritates your lungs or you inhale an allergen—may not be the bad actors after all.

Following a competitive review process, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for Pennington Biomedical’s Metabolic Basis of Disease Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) was renewed for an additional five years. This Phase II renewal builds on the momentum achieved since the center’s establishment in 2020, enabling continued support for young scientists who are focused on the mechanisms through which nutrition and metabolism contribute to health.