PHA Research Room

PHA's International PH Conference provides researchers access to the largest gathering of PH patients in the world.

Each biennial meeting of PHA's International PH Conference and Scientific Sessions includes a Research Room dedicated to helping researchers further their studies by allowing for the collection of data, including biological specimens (cheek swabs and blood samples) from PH patients. This event gives researchers the rare opportunity to collect data from the largest gathering of pulmonary hypertension patients in the world at any given time.

The first Research Room was held in 1994 at PHA's International PH Conference in Stone Mountain, Ga. That first gathering brought together almost 70 patients. At the 10^th PHA International PH Conference in 2012 in Orlando, Fla., PHA hosted 9 research teams from all over the U.S., with more than 230 attendees participating in our Research Room.

The work researchers have done at PHA's Research Room has made a difference in the field of pulmonary hypertension. For instance, samples collected at an earlier PHA conference were used in work leading to the discovery of the gene for PH -- the bone morphogenetic protein type II receptor (BMPR-II).

Every issue of PHA's quarterly print newsletter Pathlight features information on recent PH research. The autumn 2012 issue highlighted the successes of the 2012 Research Room. Read more