VA San Diego Researcher Earns Award for Groundbreaking Study on E-Cigarettes

SAN DIEGO – There is growing concern about the health impact of e-cigarettes. VA San Diego Chief of Pulmonary Critical Care and University of California San Diego Associate Professor of Medicine, Dr. Laura Crotty-Alexander recently received recognition by earning the Senior Clinician Scientist Investigator Award from the VA Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development Program.

With this national level VA award, Dr. Crotty-Alexander is awarded eight years of continuous funding for her research, without the need for a competitive renewal after the initial four-year VA Merit Award period. Her research budget doubles to more than $2 million.

“Saving Veteran lives, that’s what this research is all about,” said VA San Diego Healthcare System researcher Dr. Laura Crotty-Alexander. “I’m honored to receive this award, and even more thankful that additional resources will be put toward this unique research.”

Since the advent of electronic cigarettes, known as e-cigarettes, Veterans and active-duty service members have had among the highest rates of electronic smoking product use. According to Military Medicine, Veterans have a higher rate of e-cig use than the general population, with 38% reporting they have used them at some point. For active-duty service members, rates of traditional tobacco cigarette smoking have decreased, but rates of e-cigarette use have increased.

The VA research study looks to determine if e-cigarette use increases the severity of asthma. The study specifically looks at how daily vaping of e-cigarettes impacts inflation of the airways.

“We don’t currently understand if there are any long-term health effects of e-cigarettes, including on those with a lung disease like asthma,” Dr. Crotty-Alexander said.

She added that as part of the study, she’s looking at the 60 to 150 chemicals that she says are in e-cigarettes, in an attempt to pinpoint the effects of each chemical on asthma.

“I would frequently see Veterans who had trouble quitting traditional tobacco,” she said. “These same Veterans would then come to me asking if e-cigarettes were a safe substitution … because there was little research on e-cigarettes at the time, I couldn’t give them an answer.”

She continued, “That’s why I began pursuing this research... knowing the answers we find could make a big difference in Veteran lives. The more information we can give Veterans about e-cigarettes, the better, because they can make informed decisions on their health.”

Her ultimate goal is to help Veterans better understand the risks of e-cigarette use.

Dr. Crotty-Alexander’s research on e-cigarettes began in 2013, when VASDHS was one of the first research facilities to begin such studies. Today VA San Diego is the only research facility across the globe to study the impact of e-cigarettes on pre-existing lung disease. The goal of this study is to generate conclusive findings in the next two to three years. Such findings will be ground-breaking to help Veterans across the nation.

Thanks to a strong research partnership, students at UCSD and other educational centers have been given opportunities to contribute and learn. To date, more than 30 students have been a part of this project.

“Hands-on learning is so vital for students, and to be able to give students experiences in unique research settings like this is rewarding and impactful,” Dr. Crotty-Alexander said.

She added that students often provide new insight in her research.

“Not only are we training them – they help me understand this new e-cigarette technology and the culture surrounding it. They teach me, it’s a great collaboration,” she said.

Dr. Crotty-Alexander says her next research question will focus on the impact of using both e-cigarettes and combustible tobacco together. 

When asked why she carries on with research that requires exceptional commitment and attention-to-detail, Dr. Crotty-Alexander’s answer was simple.

“All the hours in the lab, reading, writing, and triple-checking everything are worth it if we can improve or save the lives of our Nation’s Heroes,” she said.