Biography
My main research interests revolve around respiratory mucosal immunology in the context of airway disease. For my research program I use a translational approach consisting of in vitro studies with primary human airway epithelial and dendritic cells, in vivo mouse models of airway disease, and clinical samples from well phenotyped patients following controlled environmental exposures. My research program focuses on identifying the mechanisms governing how environmental exposures can contribute to allergic sensitization and exacerbations of asthma. To this end, I induce inflammatory responses in human airway epithelial cells and determine how these influence adaptive immunity and chronic inflammation. I am able to induce inflammatory responses using a variety of methods including exposure to urban particulate matter, diesel exhaust particles, allergens, and viruses in both single and multi-exposure models. I parallel my in vitro studies with in vivo models using genetically modified mice that will allow me to explore mechanisms of allergic sensitization in an intact organism. Lastly, I use clinical models and isolated samples from well phenotyped patients to test and confirm observations observed in my in vitro and in vivo studies. My research platform will be focused on asthma but will be adaptable to explore other respiratory diseases including cystic fibrosis and COPD.
Publications list available on Google Scholar
