Pitt Pediatrics congratulates Franziska Rosser, MD, MPH for recently receiving an R01 grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), as part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Rosser is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in our Division of Pulmonology and has focused much of her recent research efforts on federal air pollutant standards and their relationship to asthma outcomes in pediatric patients.
This R01 grant will fund a clinical trial to determine whether and how adding the Air Quality Index (AQI) to an asthma action plan improves asthma control and asthma outcomes in children, building on Rosser’s ongoing work.
Rosser received her medical degree from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. Following a Residency in Pediatrics at the University of South Carolina Greenville, she served as a pediatric pulmonology fellow with us at CHP. During her fellowship, she earned a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, receiving several recognitions including induction into the prestigious Omicron chapter of the Delta Omega Society in public health.
Rosser practiced as a pediatric pulmonologist at National Jewish Health in Denver for 2 years before being recruited back to our Division in June 2017. In 2019, she was awarded a position in the University of Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute KL2 training program. During this time, she received funding as a principal investigator (PI) from the American Thoracic Society Foundation to conduct a pilot study investigating the impacts of adding the AQI to childhood asthma action plans.
In 2021, she was awarded an NHLBI Mentored Career Development Award (K08) entitled “Chronic outdoor air pollution, airway epithelial “omics”, and asthma exacerbations in children”. In 2024, she was elected to the Society for Pediatric Research and received the Robert B. Mellins Award from the ATS Pediatrics Assembly. This year, she received a grant from the Breathe PA Foundation. To date, she has authored or co-authored 57 publications.
Juan Celedon, MD, DrPH, Director of our Division of Pulmonology, noted, upon learning of Rosser’s grant funding, “Receiving an R01 grant is a major accomplishment for a physician scientist [...] We are proud and grateful to have [Rosser] as faculty in our Division..”
Join us in celebrating this fantastic accomplishment for Dr. Rosser.
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