Using gene therapy to treat cystic fibrosis

Three decades of delving into the mysteries of cystic fibrosis (CF) began with simple, fundamental curiosity. “I just wanted to understand how the airway worked,” says University of Iowa pulmonologist Michael Welsh, MD.

Johnna Allison’s experience with cystic fibrosis (CF) has been dramatically different from her mother’s, beginning with the diagnosis.

“It’s a pig!” That was the birth announcement Michael Welsh, MD, emailed colleagues Feb. 27, 2008, marking the successful conclusion of a five-year mission to produce a unique animal model of cystic fibrosis (CF) and open a new chapter in CF research at the University of Iowa.