Cystic Fibrosis Center

The Cystic Fibrosis Center at Boston Children's Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital is one of the oldest and largest cystic fibrosis centers in the United States. Caring for more than 600 children and adults each year, our award-winning center provides comprehensive services, including evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of CF, together with educational resources and access to clinical research studies. The center was founded by Dr. Harry Schwachman, who was one of the earliest physician investigators to help characterize CF and who developed diagnostic and treatment methods that have dramatically extended the lives of children and adults.

Our center is unique in offering both pediatric and adult cystic fibrosis programs, each with dedicated care providers and support staff. We also offer a transition program for teens, recognizing that children and adults have somewhat different health concerns. The Adult Cystic Fibrosis Program is a joint program with the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Lung Center, with services at each location.

We are a leading participant in the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics Development Network, participating in dozens of clinical trials evaluating novel approaches to therapy for children and adults with CF. We also initiate our own clinical trials and are involved in global health initiatives around care for CF.

The combined Boston Children’s Hospital/Brigham and Women’s Hospital CF Center is committed to lifelong coordinated care for people with cystic fibrosis of all ages and all levels of complexity. Because we care for both children and adults, with overlapping teams, our patients can transition seamlessly as their health needs change and have their needs met at every stage. Our long history of caring for people with CF has familiarized us with its many nuances, enabling us to tailor care to meet each person’s needs.

Our clinical teams have specialized training in different facets of CF, and teams include pulmonologists, pulmonary nurses, gastroenterologists, endocrinologists, nurse practitioners, nutritionists, physical therapists, respiratory technologists, social workers, and mental health providers. The children and adults in our program have access to a wide range of services and a variety of clinical treatment trials.

The center and our clinical teams are recognized worldwide, and we are proud to have received multiple awards recognizing our high quality of care. Our ongoing quality improvement work actively involves our patients and families, and it’s steadily improved clinical outcomes and the care experience. Children and adults in our program are welcomed into a community that comes together for discussions, webcasts, education sessions, and mutual support.

Our research program is always seeking to better understand CF, improve and expand treatment options, and improve care and quality of life for all children and adults with cystic fibrosis. We have a large staff devoted to CF drug trials and other clinical studies of children and adults with CF, and we are a leading participant in national and international studies. These studies are testing a range of gene therapies and drug therapies aimed at restoring function of the CFTR gene, as well as new treatments for lung infections and therapies targeting the digestive system. Our investigators are also tracking long-term outcomes such as bone health and reproductive health. Many of our studies are enrolling both children and adults.

Looking to the longer range, we actively conduct laboratory research to discover new approaches to CF. These include treatments to correct the genetic defects that cause CF and creating lung models from people’s own cells to better understand how the lungs respond to common infections that can trigger disease flares.

• Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis Program
• Adult Cystic Fibrosis Program (a joint program of Boston Children’s and Brigham and Women’s Hospital)
• cystic fibrosis research