Public Policy Position - Research

DATE APPROVED: June 25, 2021 

Policy Principle on Research

The American Lung Association strongly supports research to prevent, and reduce exacerbation, discover cures and improve the diagnosis of lung disease. The research should include basic, translational clinical, biomedical, behavioral and environmental areas. In addition, research should investigate measures to eliminate disparities in lung disease morbidity and mortality for people of color and low income and other underserved populations. Research should be conducted in a legal, ethical and humane manner.

Research Funding

The American Lung Association supports increased federal funding levels for biomedical, behavioral, epidemiological, environmental and intervention research and research training programs, including but not limited to those conducted by the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Animals in Medical Research

The American Lung Association recognizes the critical role animal research has played in making medical advances. The American Lung Association strongly supports full compliance with the existing rules and regulations that assure the humane and compassionate management of laboratory animals. We encourage all forms of biomedical research involving animals that have been carefully scrutinized and deemed worthy by qualified experts, and we oppose all efforts to exclude the use of animals whenever they are essential for research.

Human Stem Cell Research

The American Lung Association recognizes that research with human stem cells offer significant potential to further our understanding of fundamental lung biology and to develop cell-based therapies to treat lung disease. The American Lung Association supports the responsible pursuit of research involving the use of human stem cells.

Responsible Conduct of Research

The American Lung Association requires that the research it supports follow ethical standards including adherence to all applicable federal, state and local rules and regulations. All relevant Institutional Review Boards (IRB)/Human Subjects Committees should review and approve research proposals involving human subjects. Research involving animal subjects must also undergo Institutional Animal Care and Use Care (IACUC) committee review and approval as well as all other review processes as appropriate for the proposed research. Failure to adhere to such processes should result in termination of research support.

While safeguarding patient and research participant privacy, the American Lung Association supports full transparency in the conduct of all research, including clinical trials. All clinical trials should be registered and all data should be reported in a timely fashion at clinicaltrials.gov.

Use of Research in Policymaking

The American Lung Association affirms that all public policy decisions related to human health must be based on up-to-date, peer-reviewed science. Federal agencies have long used peer-reviewed research as the basis of policymaking and must continue to have access to independent scientific information and advice. Federal, state or local agencies that produce scientific information must do so without political interference and must continue to provide the public with access to scientific information. The American Lung Association opposes the exclusion of the results of a study from use in policymaking simply because the study utilized private research participant data.

The American Lung Association opposes any actions that would put research participant privacy at risk as part of the use of scientific research in the policymaking process. Privacy must continue to be protected. Any potentially identifiable participant data collected during peer-reviewed research must never be made public.