John Fahy, MD

Professor, Medicine

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.

Address: 
513 Parnassus Avenue, HSE, Rm 1307
UCSF Box 0130
San Francisco, CA 94143
United States
Phone: 
+1 415 476-9940
Faculty Type: 
Parnassus Pulmonary Research Faculty
Publications: 

Assessment of ventilation heterogeneity and particle deposition in asthmatics using combined SPECT/CT imaging and computational modeling approaches.(link is external)

European journal of pharmaceutical sciences : official journal of the European Federation for Pharmaceutical Sciences

Zhang X, Rajaraman PK, Li F, Choi S, Comellas AP, Hoffman EA, Fain SB, Kaczka DW, Smith BM, Choi J, Castro M, Wenzel SE, Jarjour NN, Schiebler ML, Israel E, Levy BD, Fahy JV, Erzurum SC, Babiskin A, Kinjo M, Walenga R, Lin CL

Cellular and molecular features of asthma mucus plugs provide clues about their formation and persistence.(link is external)

The Journal of clinical investigation

Liegeois MA, Hsieh A, Al-Fouadi M, Charbit AR, Yang CX, Hackett TL, Fahy JV

Clinical and Biological Features of a Thickened Basement Membrane Zone in Asthma.(link is external)

American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine

Leung C, Tang M, Finkbeiner WE, Johansson MW, Denlinger LC, Jarjour NN, Castro M, Sumino K, Erzurum SC, Comhair SA, Moore WC, Hastie AT, Levy BD, Israel E, Phillips BR, Mauger DT, Wenzel SE, Christenson S, Seibold MA, Jackson N, Woodruff PG, Fahy JV, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Severe Asthma Research Program (SARP)

Response to the Editor Regarding: "In Office Sampling of Eosinophil Peroxidase to Diagnose Eosinophilic Chronic Rhinosinusitis".(link is external)

International forum of allergy & rhinology

Callander JK, Charbit AR, Khanna K, Fahy JV, Tang M, Liegeois M, Pletcher SD, Goldberg AN, Gurrola JG, Murr AH, Butrymowicz A, Loftus PA

α1-Antitrypsin Gene Variation Associates with Asthma Exacerbations and Related Health Care Utilization.(link is external)

The journal of allergy and clinical immunology. In practice

Ortega VE, Tejwani V, Shrivastav AK, Pasha S, Zein JG, Boorgula M, Castro M, Denlinger L, Erzurum SC, Fahy JV, Israel E, Jarjour NN, Levy B, Mauger D, Moore WC, Wenzel SE, Woodruff P, Hawkins GA, Bleecker ER, Meyers DA, NHLBI Severe Asthma Research Program (SARP)

Type 1 Immune Responses Related to Viral Infection Influence Corticosteroid Response in Asthma.(link is external)

American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine

Fahy JV, Jackson ND, Sajuthi SP, Pruesse E, Moore CM, Everman JL, Rios C, Tang M, Gauthier M, Wenzel SE, Bleecker ER, Castro M, Comhair SA, Erzurum SC, Hastie AT, Moore W, Israel E, Levy BD, Denlinger L, Jarjour NN, Johansson MW, Mauger DT, Phillips BR, Sumino K, Woodruff PG, Peters MC, Seibold MA, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Severe Asthma Research Program-3

Serum cAMP levels are increased in patients with asthma.(link is external)

The Journal of clinical investigation

An SS, Cao G, Ahn K, Lee J, Jung DY, Denlinger L, Fahy J, Israel E, Moore W, Phillips B, Mauger D, Wenzel S, Panettieri RA

Multicohort Analysis of Bronchial Epithelial Cell Expression in Healthy Subjects and Patients with Asthma Reveals Four Clinically Distinct Clusters.(link is external)

American journal of respiratory cell and molecular biology

Lee I, Ganesan A, Kalesinskas L, Zheng H, Ahn HC, Christenson S, Erzurum SC, Zein J, Bleecker ER, Meyers DA, Castro M, Fahy JV, Israel E, Jarjour NN, Moore W, Wenzel SE, Mauger DT, Levy BD, Woodruff PG, Ortega VE, Khatri P

Development of an asthma health-care burden score as a measure of severity and predictor of remission in SARP III and U-BIOPRED: results from two major longitudinal asthma cohorts.(link is external)

The Lancet. Respiratory medicine

Zein JG, Zounemat-Kerman N, Adcock IM, Hu B, Attaway A, Castro M, Dahlén SE, Denlinger LC, Erzurum SC, Fahy JV, Gaston B, Hastie AT, Israel E, Jarjour NN, Levy BD, Mauger DT, Moore W, Peters MC, Sumino K, Townsend E, Woodruff P, Ortega VE, Wenzel SE, Meyers DA, Chung KF, Bleecker ER, Unbiased Biomarkers for the Prediction of Respiratory Disease Outcomes (U-BIOPRED) Consortium and th

In office sampling of eosinophil peroxidase to diagnose eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis.(link is external)

International forum of allergy & rhinology

Callander JK, Charbit AR, Khanna K, Fahy JV, Tang M, Liegeois M, Pletcher SD, Goldberg AN, Gurrola JG, Murr AH, Butrymowicz A, Loftus PA

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