Pitt Pediatrics congratulates Traci M. Kazmerski, MD, MS, for her recent awarding of an R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Kazmerski is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, where her research primarily focuses on the improvement of comprehensive health care for adolescents and young adults with pediatric-onset disease, with a particular focus on sexual and reproductive health of people with cystic fibrosis (CF). 
Kazmerski’s R01 grant will support new research into the impact of CF on populations considering and entering parenthood, as the advent of effective CF modulator therapies have allowed people affected by the disease to live longer and healthier lives. Research in this area, currently, is limited, and thus restricts people’s ability to make informed reproductive decisions and find appropriate support for their specific needs.
Kazmerski’s project is a long-term, multicenter, observational study that has also received funding from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and aims to help determine the health impact of parenthood on men and women with CF in the era of CF modulators. It is the first, large-scale epidemiologic data collection of how becoming a parent interplays with having a chronic disease. Throughout this 7-year long Health Outcomes of Parents with CF (HOPeCF) study, 18 CF centers across the United States, led by the University of Pittsburgh, will come together to discover the impact of parenthood and parents and prospective parents with CF can be best supported.
Follow Pitt Pediatrics on Twitter for ongoing updates on Kazmerski’s research as it continues to develop.