Current projects

Pulmonary fibrosis at single-cell resolution. In collaboration with Dr. Nicholas Banovich at the Translational Genomics Research Institute, we are utilizing single-cell/spatial genomic approaches to explore the mechanisms and mediators of idiopathic and other forms of pulmonary fibrosis.

The early pathogenesis of familial pulmonary fibrosis. In collaboration with Dr. Timothy Blackwell, Dr. Margaret Salisbury, Dr. Nicholas Banovich, and Dr. Todd Peterson we are utilizing CT and PET-based imaging strategies for early detection of pulmonary fibrosis and using single-cell/spatial transcriptomic approaches to define early disease mechanisms.

Regulation of adaptive and pathologic alveolar repair. Collaborating with Jason Gokey, Tim Blackwell, Susan Guttentag, Darrell Kotton (BU), Kostas Alysandratos (BU), Purushothama Tata (Duke) and others, we are using transgenic animal models, organoid studies, and iPSC-based platforms to investigate the mechanisms that regulate adaptive alveolar repair and regeneration.

Lung development at single-cell resolution. In collaboration Jennifer Sucre, Erin Plosa and John Benjamin, we are investigating the mechanisms regulating normal postnasal lung development and how disturbance of normal development influences future lung structure, function and disease risk.

Clinical

Finding a pulmonary fibrosis gene. Enrollment in the Vanderbilt pulmonary fibrosis registry is open to patients with pulmonary fibrosis or other interstitial lung diseases and their family members.

Molecular imaging of activated fibroblasts: In this study, we are investigating a PET-probe targeting activated fibroblasts as a biomarker of disease activity among patients with PF.

B4PF 2.0. This project, supported by the ThreeLakes Foundation is a collaboration with Anna Podolanczuk at Cornell exploring radiologic biomarkers of ILA progression.