Francesca Polverino, MD, PhD

Francesca Polverino, MD, PhD, is a physician scientist and tenured Lester and Sue Smith professor of medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas where she leads the COPD translational research group. Her clinical and research interest is in chronic airway diseases, with a background in lung immunology and pathology. Her research focuses on understanding the genetic, genomic, and developmental factors which account for the individual susceptibility to develop chronic airflow limitation. After medical school, Francesca completed a fellowship in immunology and lung pathology, to then move to the Harvard Medical School, where she completed her PhD in pulmonary medicine and became a faculty member in 2015. She has been awarded several prestigious international recognitions, including the COPD Gold medal by the European Respiratory Society, the Parker B Francis Award from the American Thoracic Society, and the Medal of Honor for Scientific Merits from the Italian Prime Minister. She is section editor for the European Respiratory Journal and serves as standing member in several study sections including for the NIH, American Lung Association, and Department of Defense. Francesca has received several federal and foundation grants as Principal Investigator, including a Parker B. Francis Fellowship, an American Lung Association grant, an Alpha1antitrypsin foundation grant, an industry Pathway grant, and two R01s from the NHLBI.