“Our findings pave the way to precision medicine for cystic fibrosis patients, eventually helping us match treatment to each patient’s unique genomic pattern of disease,” says lead author Hara Levy, MD, MMSc, from Manne Research Institute at Lurie Children’s, who is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “Our study was the first to identify molecular signatures of cystic fibrosis from a blood test taken during a routine clinic visit, giving us a baseline. Greater understanding of these molecular signatures may lead to unique molecular markers that could help us intervene earlier to changes in a patient’s inflammatory response to airway infection or pancreatic function, allowing us to provide more focused treatment. It would be a huge improvement over the one-size-fits-all treatment approach we currently have for patients with cystic fibrosis.”