Dr. Thompson is the Medical Director of the NHLBI-funded Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL) Clinical Coordinating Center where he coordinates randomized controlled trials for critically ill patients. In collaboration with Drs' Christiani and Bajwa at MGH, Dr. Thompson is exploring the molecular epidemiology of ARDS susceptibility and ARDS and sepsis clinical outcomes. Dr Thompson is working with Dr. Michael Matthay at UCSF on the design and implementation of a Phase II trial of mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of ALI and with Augustine Choi at the Brigham and Women's Hospital on the design and implementation of a clinical trial of inhaled carbon monoxide as a potential therapeutic agent for ARDS.