Jacono, Frank, MD

Dr. Frank Jacono has an NIH and VA-funded research program focused on the neural control of breathing, with an emphasis on using heart rate and ventilatory pattern analysis as novel tools for investigating mechanisms responsible for cardiopulmonary behaviors and providing predictive insight into prognosis and reversible pathophysiology.

His laboratory employs computational approaches to quantify heart rate and ventilatory pattern variability in pre-clinical models of lung injury, ARDS, sepsis, cystic fibrosis, sleep, and respiratory failure. Research interests also include the neural control of breathing in acute lung injury (ALI), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and mechanical ventilation.

Dr. Jacono has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Applied Physiology. He is also an actively practicing pulmonary and critical care physician caring for patients with sepsis, ARDS, and COVID in the ICU, and is an active member of the American Thoracic Society and the Society for Complex Acute Illness.

The goal of his laboratory is to develop and test a cohesive set of computational approaches to quantify biologically determined breathing pattern variability to provide predicative insight into prognosis and reversible pathophysiology leading to recovery, survival and rehabilitation; ultimately, targeting measures of pattern variability as an “additional vital sign” providing diagnostic and predictive information to clinicians.

Dr. Jacono received an Advanced Career Development Award from the VA Research Service, and his research activities have also been supported by the American Heart Association and the NIH.

RESEARCH PROGRAMS

• Neural control of breathing and physiologic pattern variability
• Heart rate and ventilatory pattern analysis as biomarkers of cardiopulmonary disease
• Pre-clinical models of lung injury, ARDS, sepsis, and respiratory failure
• Carotid body oxygen sensing and inflammatory cytokine signaling
• Translational and clinical studies in sepsis, ARDS, and lung cancer

MAJOR PROJECTS & FUNDING

• NIH-Funded Research Program, neural control of breathing and biologically determined physiologic pattern variability
• VA-Funded Research Program, neuroinflammation and cardiorespiratory circuit disruption in pre-clinical disease models
• Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University, Neuroinflammation Disrupts Cardio-Respiratory Circuits and Patterns
• Cincinnati VA Medical Center, Randomized sham-controlled clinical trial of positive end expiratory device for pulmonary rehabilitation

HONORS & RECOGNITION

• University Hospitals Distinguished Physician, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, 2021
• Master Clinician Award, Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, 2019
• American Thoracic Society Fellow (ATSF) Designation, American Thoracic Society, 2019
• Wings of Excellence Award, Cleveland Federal Executive Board, VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System, 2018
• Award of Tenure in the School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, 2015