Research Summary

Dr. Arjomandi is a physician-scientist at UCSF who studies how the air we breathe and the environments we live in affect lung and heart health. His research aims to uncover how inhalational exposures to pollutants, toxicants, and tobacco smoke contribute to respiratory disease such as COPD and asthma and to translate this understanding into better strategies for prevention and care. A Professor of Medicine in the Divisions of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy, and Sleep Medicine and Occupational, Environmental, and Climate Medicine, he leads the UCSF Human Exposure Laboratory and directs the San Francisco VA Airborne Hazards and Burn Pit Center of Excellence- a national program dedicated to advancing research and clinical care for veterans affected by deployment-related respiratory diseases.

Biography
Dr. Arjomandi grew up in Ahvaz, a small city in southwestern Iran, and moved to the United States in 1986 in the aftermath of Iranian revolution (1979), Iraq's invasion of Iran (1980-88), and his family displacement inside Iran (1980-83). After arriving in California, he began his higher education at Los Angeles Pierce College before transferring to University of California San Diego in 1988, where he earned a bachelor's degree in molecular biology and completed a senior honors thesis in developmental biology in Dr. Richard Firtel’s lab. He then attended Stanford University School of Medicine in 1991, completing two predoctoral research fellowships in Dr. Etienne Emile Beaulieu’s lab at INSERM in Paris, France, and Dr. John Cooke’s vascular biology lab at Stanford. Dr. Arjomandi then completed a residency in internal medicine at UCLA (1996-99) and a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care at UCSF (2000-03). He completed three additional years of research fellowship funded by the American Lung Association and Chest Foundation before successfully competing for an NIH K23 award in 2006 and then joining the pulmonary and critical care faculty at UCSF and San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH). In 2008, he obtained a joint appointment at the San Francisco VA Health Care System (SFVAHCS).

Currently, Dr. Arjomandi is Professor of Medicine in the Divisions of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy, and Sleep Medicine and Occupational, Environmental, and Climate Medicine at UCSF with a joint appointment at SFVAHCS. He serves as Director of the UCSF Human Exposure Laboratory, Director of the SFVAHCS Environmental Medicine Clinic, and Director of the SFVAHCS Airborne Hazard and Burn Pit Center of Excellence. He is also an Investigator at the UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education and an Affiliate Member of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Research Funding

  • July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2025 - Occult Cardiovascular Disease with Chronic Exposure to Secondhand Tobacco Smoke , PI . Sponsor: Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute (FAMRI), Sponsor Award ID: SFGH Foundation
  • April 1, 2020 - March 31, 2024 - Lung Macrophage Populations and Functions in COPD-Susceptible Smokers (Pre-COPD Study) , PI . Sponsor: Department of Defense, Sponsor Award ID: W81XWH-20-1-0158
  • April 1, 2019 - March 31, 2024 - Characterization of Innate Immunity in Pollution-induced Exacerbation in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (CO3PD Study) , PI . Sponsor: California TRDRP, Sponsor Award ID: T29IR0715

Education

University of California, San Diego, BA, 06/1991, Molecular Biology
Stanford University, MD, 06/1996, MD Program
University of California, Los Angeles, Residency, 06/1999, Internal Medicine
University of California, San Francisco Fellowship, 06/2003, Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine
University of California, San Francisco, Certificate, 06/2003, Advanced Training in Clinical Research
Veterans Affairs Cooperative Study Program, Certificate, 08/2009, Clinical Trial Design Course
University of California, San Francisco, Certificate, 05/2010, Mentor Development Program
The Jackson Laboratories (NIH/NHLBI), Certificate, 10/2010, Genetic Approaches to Complex Heart, Lung and Blood Diseases
University of California, San Francisco, CA, 2018, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training

Honors & Awards

  • 1988
    Mathematics Scholarship, Los Angeles Pierce College
  • 1989 &1990
    Dean's honors list, University of California San Diego
  • 1990
    Pre-doctoral Research Fellow, Ronald McNair Student Fellowship, University of California San Diego
  • 1992
    Pre-doctoral Research Scholar, La Societe pour Aider les Amis de Science, INSERM at University of Paris, France
  • 1992
    Pre-doctoral Research Scholar, Steward Traveling Medical Scholars Award, Stanford University
  • 1993
    Pre-doctoral Research Scholar, Stanford Medical Scholars Award, Stanford University
  • 2003
    Research Award, Chest Foundation Clinical Research Trainee Award
  • 2003 & 2004
    Research Award, American Lung Association Research Fellowship Award
  • 2006
    Research Award, NIH/NHLBI Mentored Patient-oriented Career Development Award (K23)
  • 2015
    Research Award, Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute Individual Research Award
  • 2015
    Breathe California Clean Air Award- Research Category

Selected Publications

  1. Cassady SJ, Abitante TJ, Pappas GG, Alexander T, Falvo MJ, Post-Deployment Cardiopulmonary Evaluation Network Left ventricular concentric remodeling is highly common among veterans deployed to Southwest Asia and is associated with impaired exercise performance.  View on PubMed
  2. Yorusaliem Abrham, Siyang Zeng, Julian Roman, Chantal Kloth, Mehrdad Arjomandi Plasma Fibrinogen as a Predictor of Disease Severity and Exacerbation: Insights Across the Pre-COPD and COPD Continuum.  View on PubMed
  3. Zeng S, Jani NC, Sotolongo AM, Luo G, Arjomandi M, Falvo MJ Clinical Utility of Pulmonary Function Testing in Assessing Longitudinal Outcomes of Deployed Veterans with Preserved Spirometry.  View on PubMed
  4. Suri R, Tashkin DP, Buhr RG, Barjaktarevic IZ, all the authors Reply to Currow et al.: Geographic Variation in Prevalence of Breathlessness: Latitude.  View on PubMed
  5. Arjomandi M, Zeng S, Barjaktarevic I, Bleecker ER, Bowler RP, Criner GJ, Comellas AP, Couper DJ, Curtis JL, Dransfield MT, Drummond MB, Fortis S, Han MK, Hansel NN, Hoffman EA, Kaner RJ, Kanner RE, Krishnan JA, Labaki W, Ortega VE, Peters SP, Rennard SI, Cooper CB, Tashkin DP, Paine R, Woodruff PG. Phenotypes and Trajectories of Tobacco-exposed Persons with Preserved Spirometry: Insights from Lung Volumes. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2024 Nov 25.  View on PubMed
  6. Suri R, Markovic D, Woo H, Arjomandi M, Barr RG, Bowler RP, Criner G, Curtis JL, Dransfield MT, Drummond MB, Fortis S, Han MK, Hoffman EA, Kaner RJ, Kaufman JD, Krishnan JA, Martinez FJ, Ohar J, Ortega VE, Paine R, Soler X, Woodruff PG, Hansel NN, Cooper CB, Tashkin DP, Buhr RG, Barjaktarevic IZ. The Effect of Chronic Altitude Exposure on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Outcomes in the SPIROMICS Cohort: An Observational Cohort Study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2024 Nov 15; 210(10):1210-1218.  View on PubMed
  7. Seedahmed MI, Albirair MT, Baugh AD, Gellad WF, Nouraie SM, Gibson KF, Whooley MA, McCulloch CE, Koth LL, Arjomandi M. Trends in All-Cause Mortality Among US Veterans With Sarcoidosis, 2004-2022. Chest. 2024 Nov 07.  View on PubMed
  8. Abrham Y, Zeng S, Lin W, Lo C, Beckert A, Evans L, Dunn M, Giang B, Thakkar K, Roman J, Blanc PD, Arjomandi M. Self-report underestimates the frequency of the acute respiratory exacerbations of COPD but is associated with BAL neutrophilia and lymphocytosis: an observational study. BMC Pulm Med. 2024 Sep 02; 24(1):433.  View on PubMed
  9. Simoneau CR, Chen PY, Xing GK, Hayashi JM, Chen IP, Khalid MM, Meyers NL, Taha TY, Leon KE, Suryawanshi RK, McCavitt-Malvido M, Ashuach T, Fontaine KA, Rodriguez L, Joehnk B, Walcott K, Vasudevan S, Fang X, Maishan M, Schultz S, Roose JP, Matthay MA, Sil A, Arjomandi M, Yosef N, Ott M. NF-κB inhibitor alpha controls SARS-CoV-2 infection in ACE2-overexpressing human airway organoids. Sci Rep. 2024 07 04; 14(1):15351.  View on PubMed
  10. Gerard SE, Dougherty TM, Nagpal P, Jin D, Han MK, Newell JD, Saha PK, Comellas AP, Cooper CB, Couper D, Fortis S, Guo J, Hansel NN, Kanner RE, Kazeroni EA, Martinez FJ, Motahari A, Paine R, Rennard S, Schroeder JD, Woodruff PG, Barr RG, Smith BM, Hoffman EA, SPIROMICS Research Group. Vessel and Airway Characteristics in One-Year Computed Tomography-defined Rapid Emphysema Progression: SPIROMICS. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2024 Jul; 21(7):1022-1033.  View on PubMed
  11. Zeng S, Nishihama M, Weldemichael L, Lozier H, Gold WM, Arjomandi M. Effect of twice daily inhaled albuterol on cardiopulmonary exercise outcomes, dynamic hyperinflation, and symptoms in secondhand tobacco-exposed persons with preserved spirometry and air trapping: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Pulm Med. 2024 Jan 20; 24(1):44.  View on PubMed
  12. Seedahmed MI, Albirair MT, Whooley MA, Koth LL, Blanc PD, Arjomandi M. Response. Chest. 2024 01; 165(1):e25-e26.  View on PubMed
  13. Abrham Y, Zeng S, Tenney R, Davidson C, Yao E, Kloth C, Dalton S, Arjomandi M. Effect of a single one-hour teaching session about environmental pollutants and climate change on the understanding and behavioral choices of adolescents: The BREATHE pilot randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. 2023; 18(11):e0291199.  View on PubMed
  14. Zeng S, Luo G, Lynch DA, Bowler RP, Arjomandi M. Lung volumes differentiate the predominance of emphysema versus airway disease phenotype in early COPD: an observational study of the COPDGene cohort. ERJ Open Res. 2023 Sep; 9(5).  View on PubMed
  15. McKleroy W, Shing T, Anderson WH, Arjomandi M, Awan HA, Barjaktarevic I, Barr RG, Bleecker ER, Boscardin J, Bowler RP, Buhr RG, Criner GJ, Comellas AP, Curtis JL, Dransfield M, Doerschuk CM, Dolezal BA, Drummond MB, Han MK, Hansel NN, Helton K, Hoffman EA, Kaner RJ, Kanner RE, Krishnan JA, Lazarus SC, Martinez FJ, Ohar J, Ortega VE, Paine R, Peters SP, Reinhardt JM, Rennard S, Smith BM, Tashkin DP, Couper D, Cooper CB, Woodruff PG. Longitudinal Follow-Up of Participants With Tobacco Exposure and Preserved Spirometry. JAMA. 2023 08 01; 330(5):442-453.  View on PubMed
  16. Arjomandi M, Zeng S, Chen J, Bhatt SP, Abtin F, Barjaktarevic I, Barr RG, Bleecker ER, Buhr RG, Criner GJ, Comellas AP, Couper DJ, Curtis JL, Dransfield MT, Fortis S, Han MK, Hansel NN, Hoffman EA, Hokanson JE, Kaner RJ, Kanner RE, Krishnan JA, Labaki WW, Lynch DA, Ortega VE, Peters SP, Woodruff PG, Cooper CB, Bowler RP, Paine R, Rennard SI, Tashkin DP, and the COPDGene and SPIROMICS Investigators. Changes in Lung Volumes with Spirometric Disease Progression in COPD. Chronic Obstr Pulm Dis. 2023 Jul 26; 10(3):270-285.  View on PubMed
  17. Seedahmed MI, Albirair MT, Whooley MA, Koth LL, Blanc PD, Arjomandi M. Screening for Exposure to Beryllium Among US Veterans With a Diagnosis of Sarcoidosis, 2002-2020. Chest. 2023 11; 164(5):1253-1256.  View on PubMed
  18. Seedahmed MI, Baugh AD, Albirair MT, Luo Y, Chen J, McCulloch CE, Whooley MA, Koth LL, Arjomandi M. Epidemiology of Sarcoidosis in U.S. Veterans from 2003 to 2019. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2023 06; 20(6):797-806.  View on PubMed
  19. Verma A, Minnier J, Wan ES, Huffman JE, Gao L, Joseph J, Ho YL, Wu WC, Cho K, Gorman BR, Rajeevan N, Pyarajan S, Garcon H, Meigs JB, Sun YV, Reaven PD, McGeary JE, Suzuki A, Gelernter J, Lynch JA, Petersen JM, Zekavat SM, Natarajan P, Dalal S, Jhala DN, Arjomandi M, Gatsby E, Lynch KE, Bonomo RA, Freiberg M, Pathak GA, Zhou JJ, Donskey CJ, Madduri RK, Wells QS, Huang RDL, Polimanti R, Chang KM, Liao KP, Tsao PS, Wilson PWF, Hung AM, O'Donnell CJ, Gaziano JM, Hauger RL, Iyengar SK, Luoh SW, Million Veteran Program COVID-19 Science Initiative. A MUC5B Gene Polymorphism, rs35705950-T, Confers Protective Effects Against COVID-19 Hospitalization but Not Severe Disease or Mortality. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2022 11 15; 206(10):1220-1229.  View on PubMed
  20. Fortis S, Quibrera PM, Comellas AP, Bhatt SP, Tashkin DP, Hoffman EA, Criner GJ, Han MK, Barr RG, Arjomandi M, Dransfield MB, Peters SP, Dolezal BA, Kim V, Putcha N, Rennard SI, Paine R, Kanner RE, Curtis JL, Bowler RP, Martinez FJ, Hansel NN, Krishnan JA, Woodruff PG, Barjaktarevic IZ, Couper D, Anderson WH, Cooper CB, Subpopulations and Intermediate Outcome Measures in COPD Study Investigators. Bronchodilator Responsiveness in Tobacco-Exposed People With or Without COPD. Chest. 2023 03; 163(3):502-514.  View on PubMed

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