Frank C. Sciurba, M.D., FCCP, is a tenured Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He is the director of the Emphysema COPD Research Center and the Director of the Clinical Pulmonary physiology laboratories and pulmonary rehabilitation program. He earned his B.S. degree in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois and attended medical school at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. Dr. Sciurba completed his residency and fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Dr. Sciurba’s research has been inspired by real clinical problems facing his patients. He has authored over 400 peer reviewed publications with a particular emphasis on lung physiology and COPD. Dr. Sciurba is fully supported on grants from the National Institutes of Health, foundations, and industry. He is also a member of the Western PA Regional American Lung Association Board.
- BS, University of Illinois, 1978
- MD, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, 1982
- Residency, Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, 1985
- Fellowship, Pulmonary and Critical Care, University of Pittsburgh, 1988
Education & Training
Sciurba FC, Rogers RM, Keenan RJ, Slivka WA, Gorcsan J 3rd, Ferson PF, Holbert JM, Brown ML, Landreneau RJ. Improvement in pulmonary function and elastic recoil after lung-reduction surgery for diffuse emphysema. N Engl J Med. 1996 Apr 25;334(17):1095-9. PMID: 8598868.
Hogg JC, Chu F, Utokaparch S, Woods R, Elliott WM, Buzatu L, Cherniack RM, Rogers RM, Sciurba FC, Coxson HO, Paré PD. The nature of small-airway obstruction in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. N Engl J Med. 2004 Jun 24;350(26):2645-53. PMID: 15215480.
Sciurba FC, Criner GJ, Christenson SA, Martinez FJ, Papi A, Roche N, Bourbeau J, Korn S, Bafadhel M, Han MK, Kolterer S, Miller K, Mouneimne D, Fletcher J, Mayer B, Min J, Pavord ID. Mepolizumab to Prevent Exacerbations of COPD with an Eosinophilic Phenotype. N Engl J Med. 2025 May 1;392(17):1710-1720. PMID: 40305712.
Connors JM, Brooks MM, Sciurba FC, Krishnan JA, Bledsoe JR, Castro L, Eng H, Handberg E, Hou PC, Hulbert J, Kirwan BA, Lin JY, Martin D, Samuelson H, Shapiro NL, Zaharris E, Wisniewski SR, Ridker PM. Outpatient Randomized Controlled Trials in the Covid-19 Era and Beyond. NEJM Evid. 2022 Dec;1(12):EVIDctcs2200149. PMID: 38319835.
Bon JM, Leader JK, Weissfeld JL, Coxson HO, Zheng B, Branch RA, Kondragunta V, Lee JS, Zhang Y, Choi AM, Lokshin AE, Kaminski N, Gur D, Sciurba FC. The influence of radiographic phenotype and smoking status on peripheral blood biomarker patterns in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. PLoS One. 2009 Aug 31;4(8):e6865. PMID: 19718453.
Sciurba FC, Criner GJ, Strange C, Shah PL, Michaud G, Connolly TA, Deslée G, Tillis WP, Delage A, Marquette CH, Krishna G, Kalhan R, Ferguson JS, Jantz M, Maldonado F, McKenna R, Majid A, Rai N, Gay S, Dransfield MT, Angel L, Maxfield R, Herth FJ, Wahidi MM, Mehta A, Slebos DJ; RENEW Study Research Group. Effect of Endobronchial Coils vs Usual Care on Exercise Tolerance in Patients With Severe Emphysema: The RENEW Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2016 May 24-31;315(20):2178-89. PMID: 27179849.
Criner GJ, Connett JE, Aaron SD, Albert RK, Bailey WC, Casaburi R, Cooper JA Jr, Curtis JL, Dransfield MT, Han MK, Make B, Marchetti N, Martinez FJ, Niewoehner DE, Scanlon PD, Sciurba FC, Scharf SM, Sin DD, Voelker H, Washko GR, Woodruff PG, Lazarus SC; COPD Clinical Research Network; Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Simvastatin for the prevention of exacerbations in moderate-to-severe COPD. N Engl J Med. 2014 Jun 5;370(23):2201-10. PMID: 24836125.
Chandra D, Wise RA, Kulkarni HS, Benzo RP, Criner G, Make B, Slivka WA, Ries AL, Reilly JJ, Martinez FJ, Sciurba FC; NETT Research Group. Optimizing the 6-min walk test as a measure of exercise capacity in COPD. Chest. 2012 Dec;142(6):1545-1552. PMID: 23364913.
Bon J, Fuhrman CR, Weissfeld JL, Duncan SR, Branch RA, Chang CC, Zhang Y, Leader JK, Gur D, Greenspan SL, Sciurba FC. Radiographic emphysema predicts low bone mineral density in a tobacco-exposed cohort. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2011 Apr 1;183(7):885-90. PMID: 20935108.
Sciurba FC, Ernst A, Herth FJ, Strange C, Criner GJ, Marquette CH, Kovitz KL, Chiacchierini RP, Goldin J, McLennan G; VENT Study Research Group. A randomized study of endobronchial valves for advanced emphysema. N Engl J Med. 2010 Sep 23;363(13):1233-44. PMID: 20860505.
Hogg JC, Chu F, Utokaparch S, Woods R, Elliott WM, Buzatu L, Cherniack RM, Rogers RM, Sciurba FC, Coxson HO, Paré PD. The nature of small-airway obstruction in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. N Engl J Med. 2004 Jun 24;350(26):2645-53. PMID: 15215480.
Sciurba FC, Rogers RM, Keenan RJ, Slivka WA, Gorcsan J 3rd, Ferson PF, Holbert JM, Brown ML, Landreneau RJ. Improvement in pulmonary function and elastic recoil after lung-reduction surgery for diffuse emphysema. N Engl J Med. 1996 Apr 25;334(17):1095-9. PMID: 8598868.
- Best Doctors, Castle Connolly, 2006-present
- Samuel J. Sills, MD Distinguished Scholar Lecture of the Trudeau Society, Trudeau Society, 2016
- Outstanding Clinical Mentorship Award, University of Pittsburgh, 2016
- Copland Lecture, University of British Columbia, 2008
- Pfizer Visiting Professor in Pulmonology, Wake Forest University, 2008
- Herbert Sweet Lecture, St. Louis University, 2007
- Phi Beta Kappa, University of Illinois, 1978
R01 HL157879, COPD Subtypes and Early Prediction Using Integrative Probabilistic Graphical Models, MPI, 2022-2026.
U18 HS029924, The Pitt IMProving Access to Culturally relevant long COVID care and Treatment (IMPACCT) Program, MPI, 2023-2028.
