Respiratory Immunology and Toxicology

Faculty

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Research Focus

This lab primarily focuses on the exposures during early life to environmental factors, such as allergens, pollutants, and respiratory viruses, that lead to the predisposition, development of, or exacerbation of respiratory disease in the adult.

About this Lab

The Respiratory Immunology and Toxicology seeks to define the cellular and molecular changes in the pulmonary microenvironment following gestational and/or neonatal exposure; to determine if urban pollutants, such as particulates from combustion processes, initiate cellular/molecular events in the developing lung which lead to increased susceptibility to airways disease later in life; to define the impact of respiratory viral infection on pulmonary pathophysiology of the infant; and to understand how urban pollutants impact host defense resulting in enhanced morbidity and increased mortality from respiratory infections.

The long-term objective is to realize the initiators of the immune and pathophysiological changes that occur during the early stages of pulmonary airways disease and ultimately to develop effective interventions and therapies.