Search for Faculty

Research Description:

I am a physician-scientist and the medical director of Alpha-1 Research Laboratory at University of Florida. Our laboratory uses 2D and 3D cell culture models, transgenic mice exposed to cigarette smoke, and patient-derived samples to investigate the lung pathobiology and systemic biomarkers in individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), emphysema, and Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. Our current projects supported by NIH and Alpha-1 Foundation awards focus on innate immune responses in the lungs of COPD and Alpha-1 individuals, with emphasis on the complement cascade and the crosstalk between the airway macrophages and lung epithelium during injury and repair.

Topics of Interest:

• Innate lung immunity
• Complement
• Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency
• Emphysema
• alveolar epithelial cells
• metabolism
• cigarette smoke

Lab Room Information:

• Lab Room: M330
• Lab Phone: 3522945197