Category: Pulmonary Development and Lung Disease

Pulmonary biology and disease

Jeffrey O. Bush, Ph.D.

Research Interests:

Signaling control of mammalian morphogenesis and congenital disease

Summary:

Our lab studies basic mechanisms by which signaling between cells coordinates mammalian morphogenesis. Understanding this control has significance beyond its fundamental importance in development since birth defects are the leading cause of death for infants during the first year of life. We utilize multiple approaches based in mouse genetics to understand fundamental signaling processes as they relate to development and disease with particular foci in the craniofacial and respiratory systems. In addition to mouse genetics approaches, we utilize human ES/IPSCs, biophysical approaches, multiomics, and live imaging to understand the cellular and molecular control of morphogenesis.

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Brian B. Graham, M.D.

Research Interests:

Pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary vascular inflammation, and cardiac angiogenesis.

Summary:

Our research group investigates pulmonary hypertension, a disease of the lung blood vessels. The major focus of our research is how the immune system contributes to the disease. The goal of our work is to discover new treatment approaches to help prevent or reverse this disease.

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Mark Looney, M.D.

Research Interests:

Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, acute lung injury, acute respiratory distress syndrome, blood transfusions, transfusion-related acute lung injury, neutrophils, neutrophil extracellular traps, platelets, lung transplantation

Summary:

My laboratory is broadly interesting in study innate immune biology in the normal and injured lung. Using pre-clinical models of acute lung injury, we have focused on neutrophils and platelets, the latter being a bon a fide immune cell with powerful inflammatory potential. One consequence of platelet-neutrophil interactions is the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), which we study in both sterile and pathogen-induced lung injury models. We are determining the mechanisms by which platelets trigger NETs and novel pathways to target NETs—which we have discovered are overall barrier disruptive in the lung.

We also use two-photon intravital lung microscopy as a tool for discovery. Using this technique, we have determined that the lung is a major source of mature platelet production in mice. Furthermore, megakaryocytes reside in the extravascular lung and may have potent local immune effects. The lung also contains a wide-range of hematopoietic progenitors, which have the capacity to leave the lung and engraft in the bone marrow for multi-lineage blood production. We are determining the niche-promoting factors responsible for hematopoietic progenitor residence in the lung and the contributions of these cells to the local immune repertoire.

We have an expanding interest in lung transplantation studies, including ischemia-reperfusion injury (primary graft dysfunction) and modeling chronic lung allograft dysfunction (bronchiolitis obliterans). We use the mouse single lung transplantation technique for these studies and to create lung chimeras for investigation.

UCSF Profiles Page: http://profiles.ucsf.edu/mark.looney

Tien Peng, M.D.

Developmental pathways in the maintenance of adult tissue homeostasis

Our laboratory is interested in studying how key developmental pathways continue to persist in adulthood to maintain normal homeostatic organ function. We are particularly focused on the mesenchymal cell types (e.g. fibroblasts, pericytes, and etc.) that are poorly understood and lack precise anatomical definition, but are integral to the structural integrity and function of adult organs such as the lung.

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Andy Chang, Ph.D.

Research Interests:

Acute oxygen and metabolic sensing in cardiopulmonary regulation and disease

Summary:

To maintain optimal oxygen delivery to tissues, there is constant regulation of respiratory and cardiovascular systems by mechanisms that act on different time scales. On a fast time scale, a small chemosensory organ called the carotid body senses decreases in blood oxygen to increase breathing within seconds. The carotid body can also regulate cardiovascular function acutely, and carotid body hyperactivity contributes to disease progression in hypertension, heart failure, and metabolic syndrome. Using the mouse as our primary model, we aim to identify the molecular mechanisms that mediate the carotid body’s ability to detect changes in blood oxygen as well as other metabolic signals, such as carbon dioxide and acid. One long term goal is to apply this knowledge to manipulating carotid body activity in the treatment of cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome.

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Ian Bass Seiple, Ph.D.

Research Interests:

Synthesis of biologically active small molecules

Summary:

Despite centuries of innovation, chemistry is often still the limiting factor in the development of small molecule drug candidates, molecular probes, or novel chemical libraries. Many molecules that have tremendous biological potential are challenging to modify with known chemical methodologies. The overarching goal of our program is to develop practical methods for the synthesis of molecules that have previously been inaccessible. Many of our current projects are focused on the synthesis of novel antibiotics that can be used to treat life-threatening infections of the heart, lungs, and upper respiratory tract.

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David F Teitel, M.D.

Research Interests:
Pediatric cardiology, developmental cardiovascular physiology, cardiac mechanics, pediatric interventional cardiac catheterization, computer technology in cardiology, heart center administration, medical education, digital technology in learning, bioinformatics.

Summary:
Congenital heart disease is extremely common, occurring in about 1% of all births. My goals are to advance our knowledge of heart function in such infants and children, and to develop new methods to treat them, using medicines and catheter based techniques rather than surgery.

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Anthony K Shum, M.D.

Research Interests:
Autoimmune lung disease, interstitial lung disease, ER stress, lung injury, lung fibrosis, lung autoantigens

Summary:
The Shum lab is interested in understanding the immune mechanisms that lead to lung inflammation and fibrosis in patients with autoimmune disorders. Through human and mouse studies, we seek to define the critical factors that lead to autoimmune lung disease in order to speed the development of diagnostic tests and treatments for patients.

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Dean Sheppard, M.D.

Research Interests:
In vivo function of integrins and molecular basis of lung diseases

Summary:
Dean Sheppard’s laboratory studies how cells respond to and modify their surroundings using receptors called integrins. They have found important roles for integrins in lung and kidney fibrosis, septic shock, acute lung injury, asthma and stroke and are testing drugs targeting integrins in animal models and in people affected by these diseases.

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Jason R. Rock, PhD

Research Interests:
Stem cells in lung development, maintenance, and disease

Summary:
We investigate how the many epithelial and stromal cell types of our lungs are generated during development, maintained for a lifetime and regenerated following injury. To do this, we use in vivo and in vitro models to identify and test the progenitor capacity of putative stem cell populations. We posit that aberrant stem cell behaviors explain many features of common lung diseases such as mucous cell hyperplasia and pulmonary fibrosis. For this reason, we study the molecular mechanisms and environmental influences (i.e., niche) that regulate the division and differentiation of stem cells along various lineages. Our ultimate goal is to identify genetic, molecular and cellular therapies for the treatment of lung disease.

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Michael A Matthay, M.D.

Research Interests:
Alveolar epithelial transport under normal and pathologic conditions. Resolution of pulmonary edema Mechanisms of Acute Lung Injury

Summary:
My research program is focused on identifying mechanisms responsible for fluid transport across the alveolar epithelium using cell, molecular, and in vivo models. In addition, our group is focused on understanding the mechanisms responsible for the development and resolution of pulmonary edema and acute lung injury in critically ill patients with acute respiratory failure. The studies include experimental and human-based studies designed to understand the pathogenesis of acute respiratory failure and to test potential new therapies. The work is supported primarily by grants from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

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Michael J Mann, M.D.

Research Interests:
1. Molecular/cellular biology and molecular genetics of atherosclerosis and heart failure. 2. Development of hybrid surgical and molecular/cellular therapies for heart disease. 3. Stem and progenitor cell transplantation for cardiovascular regeneration. 4. Cardiovascular tissue engineering. 5. Reduction to clinical practice of current methods in genetic, molecular and cellular disease intervention. 6. Novel targeted molecular therapies for lung cancer. 7. Molecular profiling of cancers for personalized medicine. 8. Development of novel methods of in vivo/ex vivo gene therapy and gene transfer. 9. Novel approaches to therapeutic neovascularization for coronary and peripheral ischemic disease. 10. Cardiovascular cell cycle biology. 11. Myocardial gene therapy.

Summary:
Dr. Mann’s research focuses on the molecular and cellular biology of heart disease with an emphasis on practical ways to develop new treatments for heart failure. These involve potential gene and molecular therapies, combinations of molecular and cell-based treatments with surgical reconstruction, and evaluation of novel materials for the development of bioartificial replacements of lost or damaged heart tissue.

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