Overview

Our research focuses on the interface of mechanics and biology in the lung. We are interested in how lung cells respond to their mechanical environment, and how in turn they modify the lung's mechanical behavior. Our motivation comes from chronic environmental lung diseases like asthma and pulmonary fibrosis, which are characterized by tissue remodeling that can be both irreversible and relentlessly progressive.  We hypothesize that pathogenetic mechanisms unique to asthma and pulmonary fibrosis are inextricably linked to changes in the mechanical environment.

Current projects in the lab are focused on:

1. Understanding the molecular mechanisms by which changes in the mechanical environment are transduced into biochemical signals in airway epithelium and lung fibroblasts.
   
2. Identifying the network of genes regulated by the mechanical environment in airway epithelium and lung fibroblasts using high throughput gene arrays and bioinformatic analyses.
   
3. Investigating the molecular pathways leading to, and the functional consequences of, epithelial (mucus metaplasia) and matrix remodeling.