BU researcher wins Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Harry Shwachman Clinical Investigator Award

Andrew Berical, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), is the recipient of the Harry Shwachman Clinical Investigator Award from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF).

The four-year, $390,000 grant will fund Berical's research "A multi-omic and genetically-controlled assessment of iPSC-derived airway cells to advance therapies for CF." The award provides the opportunity for clinically trained physicians to develop into independent biomedical research investigators who are actively involved in cystic fibrosis-related areas. The award and research project are mentored by BUSM's Finn Hawkins, MBBCh, under whom Berical has trained for the past four years.

Described as a rising physician-scientist, Berical is a Pulmonary and Critical Care Attending at Boston Medical Center (BMC) and a member of the BU/BMC Center for Regenerative Medicine. His current research focuses on using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived lung cells to identify new treatments for airway diseases such as cystic fibrosis.

After graduating from Tufts University School of Medicine, Berical completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital, Conn., Berical followed by a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at BMC.

Berical has previously received a CFF Pilot and Feasibility Award as well as funding from the National Institutes of Health Training Grant.