Category: Site Parnassus


Randall J Lee, M.D., Ph.D.

Lee

Research Interests:
Arrhythmias, radiofrequency catheter ablation, implantable cardioverter/defibrillators, genetics, gene therapy, tissue engineering, stem cells, cell transplantation, biopolymers, antibodies, myocardial reconstruction/regeneration

Summary:
The research program integrates the disciplines of cell biology, bioengineering and cardiology. A tissue engineering approach is being used to investigate the potential application of cardiovascular reconstruction/regeneration. The use of stem cells and engineered polymer scaffolds are being investigated in heart attach models to determine their usefulness and safety in repairing damaged heart tissue.

UCSF Profiles Page


Stephen C Lazarus, M.D.

Lazarus

Research Interests:
Role of inflammation in asthma and COPD, mucus hypersecretion.

Summary:
Asthma affects 5-10% of the US population, and deaths from asthma have increased for several decades. COPD is the 4th leading cause of death in the US. Understanding the mechanisms involved in these diseases and how best to treat them will contribute to better outcomes.

UCSF Profiles Page


Laura L Koth, M.D.

KOTH_image

Research Interests:
Sarcoidosis Granulomatous Lung Diseases T cells Monocytes chemokines

Summary:
Dr. Koth’s research program is structured around the study of samples from human research studies. With the breath of research techniques that can be applied to human samples to learn about disease, Dr. Koth is taking a direct approach in the study of lung diseases. Dr. Koth’s current focus involves understanding the inflammatory disease called sarcoidosis. This is not a disease as common as asthma, but it affects both young and middle aged people and causes significant morbidity and mortality. More awareness and funds are needed if we hope to understand the complicated biology of the disease. For example, many of the main immune subsets of the body are abnormally regulated in this disease. Most research has focused on the traditional T-cell. For example, it is thought that specific T cells are very activated and making inflammatory products which are contributing to and continuing the disease. However there are other immune cells that have not been studied adequately. Dr. Koth’s lab has taken an active interest in these other types of immune cells. One reason for this is that we have identified, using Genomics research, that specific transcripts in the blood actually predict whether a specific patient will have progressive disease or not. She and her lab are now pursuing a line of investigation to understand where this ‘biomarker message’ is coming from in order to be able to stop it.

Dr. Koth’s lab is also interested in using state-of-the-art technology to think about new therapies for this disease. We are looking into cutting-edge translational methods of expanding a type of immune cell responsible for down regulating the inflammatory process of the body. To perform these experiments in clinical trials will require significant financial support and we are seeking this input in order to move this very exciting potential treatment forward. The other aspect of my research program includes the development of a ‘center of excellence in sarcoidosis’. This program will be designed to include both excellence in clinical care and novel clinical studies. Developing clinical care standards is an important area in managing sarcoidosis patients since sarcoidosis is a chronic disease that may be active for 10-20 years or more. Thus, a full-service clinical care program would facilitate the creation of clinical management tools and treatment regimens (developed as products from clinical trials networks) to address three arms of care in sarcoidosis: 1) organ damage, 2) symptom control, and 3) psychosocial aspects of living with the disease.

UCSF Profiles Page


Lily Y Jan, B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D.

 

Jan3

Research Interests:
Studies of potassium channels

Summary:
Ion channels such as potassium channels and calcium-activated chloride channels are important for the function of the heart, lung, and vasculature. Starting with molecular characterizations of the channel proteins, we try to understand how these channels work and how their activities are regulated under various physiological conditions

UCSF Profiles Page


Michael Gropper, M.D., Ph.D.

Gropper

Research Interests:
Transfusion related acute lung injury, acute respiratory failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, ventilator associated pneumonia, resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, critical care outcomes

Summary:
My research interests are all focused on improving outcomes in critically ill patients in the ICU. These interests range from basic scientific questions regarding the mechanisms of harm from blood transfusions to asking about whether we efficiently utilize our precious resources, particularly at the end of life.

UCSF Profiles Page


Jeffrey R Fineman, M.D.

Fineman

Research Interests:
Endothelial regulation of the pulmonary circulation during normal development and during the development of pediatric pulmonary hypertension disorders. Endothelial dysfunction in pediatric pulmonary hypertension

Summary:
Pulmonary hypertension, high blood pressure in the lungs, is a serious disorder in subsets of neonates, infants, and children. These include newborns with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN), children with congenital heart defects, and teenagers and young adults with primary pulmonary hypertension. The vascular endothelium (the cells that line the blood vessels in the lungs), via the production of vasoactive factors such as nitric oxide and endothelin-1, are important regulators of the tone and growth of pulmonary blood vessels. We utilize an integrated physiologic, biochemical, molecular, and anatomic approach, to study the potential role of aberrant endothelial function in the pathophysiology of pulmonary hypertensive disorders. To this end, we utilize fetal surgical techniques to create animal models of congenital heart disease, and investigate the early role of endothelial alterations in the pathophysiology of pulmonary hypertension secondary to congenital heart disease with increased pulmonary blood flow. Our clinical research interests include the use of pulmonary vasodilator therapy for pediatric pulmonary hypertension, and the use of peri-operative BNP levels as marker of outcome following repair of congenital heart disease.

UCSF Profiles Page


John Vincent Fahy, M.D.

Fahy

Research Interests:
Mechanism oriented studies of airway disease in human subjects

Summary:
Our research involves studies in people with airway diseases such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, and chronic bronchitis. We are involved in clinical trials of new and established treatments on the one hand and in clinical studies designed to improve understanding of mechanism of disease on the other. For clinical trials, we often collaborate with other CVRI investigators or investigators at other institutions to compare the efficacy of new and established drugs. In conducting clinical trials, we are usually interested in exploring the effects of drugs not just on measures of lung function but also on measures of airway inflammation and remodeling. For this purpose, our laboratory has developed expertise in measuring markers of inflammation and remodeling in samples of sputum or in samples of airway fluids and tissue collected during bronchoscopy. Our lab is particularly experienced in measuring gene expression using gene chips and PCR and in quantifying pathology using a rigorous method of quantitative morphology called stereology.

For our research on mechanisms of airway disease, we are particularly interested in abnormalities of airway epithelial cells (the lining cells of the airway) and in abnormalities in airway mucus. Mucus abnormalities are common in lung diseases, and we are interested in finding out the specific mucus abnormalities that are characteristic of different lung diseases such as asthma and cystic fibrosis. Recently, we have begun to explore the physical properties of airway mucus – thickness, stickiness, and adhesiveness – using an instrument called a rheometer. The rheology of airway mucus has not been investigated in detail, but the research resources of the CVRI are well suited to making progress in this area. For example, in our clinical laboratories in the CVRI, we can collect induced sputum from volunteers in a carefully controlled way, and in our bench laboratories we can make careful rheological measures. These rheologic measures are allowing personnel in our lab to explore new strategies for breaking up the mucus that normally clogs airways.

UCSF Profiles Page


Joanne N Engel, M.D., Ph.D.

Engel

Research Interests:
Bacterial Pathogen-Host Cell Interactions

Summary:
My laboratory is interested understanding and exploiting the complex interplay of microbial pathogens with eukaryotic cells. To that end, we have investigated the key processes of microbial attachment and entry, intracellular survival, and host cell injury in the context of two important human pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT). Each of these microorganisms has developed a unique strategy for successful survival that involves subverting and exploiting host cell pathways. Dissecting these processes will allow the development of new diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines and will provide a unique window into eukaryotic cell biology.

UCSF Profiles Page


Michael S Conte, M.D.

Conte

Research Interests:
Aortic reconstruction, carotid artery disease, lower extremity arterial occlusive disease, diabetic vascular disease

Summary:
Our laboratory studies the healing process in blood vessels which currently limits the long term success of procedures like angioplasty and bypass surgery. Our goals are to develop new drug and molecular therapies to prevent failures due to vessel re-narrowing, and to better identify patients at increased risk.

UCSF Profiles Page


Ronald I Clyman, M.D.

Clyman

Research Interests:
Cardiology, Cell Biology, Developmental Biology, Neonatology, Neonatal Cardiology

Summary:
The ductus arteriosus is a vital fetal blood vessel that diverts blood away from the fetus’s lungs and towards the placenta during life inside the uterus. After birth it is essential that the ductus arteriosus constricts and obliterates itself so that the normal postnatal pattern of blood flow can be established. Essentially all full term infants will have closed their ductus by the third day after birth. Preterm infants of less than 30 weeks gestation have a high chance of having a persistently open or patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). If the ductus arteriosus remains open it contributes to the development of several neonatal morbidities: prolonged ventilator dependency, pulmonary hemorrhage, pulmonary edema, chronic lung disease and necrotizing enterocolitis. Our laboratory has been studying the factors that regulate normal closure of the ductus arteriosus in full term infants and abnormal persistent ductal patency in preterm infants. Approaches used to study this problem are: controlled clinical trials, integrated whole animal physiology, in vitro organ culture, and cell biology.

UCSF Profiles Page


Israel F Charo, M.D. , Ph.D.

Charo

Research Interests:
Structure and Function of Chemokine Receptors

Summary:
The goal of our research is to use gene targeting and creation of transgenic mice to study the in vivo functions of chemokines and chemokine receptors. Chemokines are proinflammatory cytokines that function in leukocyte chemoattraction and activation and block HIV�1 infection of target cells through interactions with chemokine receptors. In addition to their function in viral disease, chemokines have been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, glomerulonephritis, and inflammatory lung disease. The chemokine family is growing rapidly. Our laboratory focuses primarily on two chemokines: monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) and fractalkine, a recently described and structurally unique chemokine.

 

UCSF Profiles Page