Over the past year the outbreak of lung injury due to vaping and e-cigarettes, commonly known as electronic-cigarette/vaping associated lung injury (EVALI), has made thousands ill with 78% of the victims being under the age of 35 [1] This lung injury has been attributed to a physical interaction between toxicants from the oils and the pulmonary surfactant (PS) rather than chemical modifications to the PS [2] Since EVALI predominately impacts the age group least susceptible to COVID-19. Studies have implicated vitamin E acetate as the cause of the injury. The goal of this research is to elucidate a mechanism by which vitamin E acetate causes respiratory dysfunction and how this mechanism causes complications in patients with COVID-19. Dr. Marquardt and collaborators will evaluate interactions of vitamin E acetate with PS and determine how this interaction causes EVALI.

[1] N Engl J Med 2020; 382:689-691
[2] N Engl J Med 2020; 382:697-705