|
|
Critical Care Medicine
Research
The research arm of the Section of Critical Care Medicine comprises the Developmental Lung Biology Laboratory and Cardiovascular Pulmonary (CVP) Research Laboratory at UCD. A large multidisciplinary group of investigators from diverse departments within the University work to advance the understanding of the impact of injury on the developing lung and lung circulation, an area of research that is closely related to problems encountered on a daily basis in the PICU.
In addition, work specifically examining the effects of hypoxia on many organ systems is performed. This is especially relevant given the many hypoxia-related problems encountered by residents or visitors to the Rocky Mountain Region.
The research work includes studies at the basic molecular and cellular levels, as well as translational biology and physiology studies. The laboratory receives substantial funding from the NIH, the American Heart Association, and the American Lung Association.
A program project grant, which is the centerpiece of the Cardiovascular Pulmonary Research Laboratory, comprises four scientific projects focused on studies of the mechanisms of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (PH). The proposed studies are collectively founded on the hypothesis that the pathogenesis of hypoxic PH involves both functional (vasoconstriction and wall stiffening) and structural (vascular wall thickening) components, and that both components involve hypoxia-induced alterations in resident cell function as well as recruitment and interactions with inflammatory and/or progenitor cells. Four highly collaborative and interactive projects will provide new insights into the cellular/molecular mechanisms of chronic hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction and vascular stiffening and remodeling and may lead to novel, more effective therapy for hypoxic PH. The basic work is supported by two major Core facilities. One provides the facilities to expose animals (mice, rats, calves, and humans) to acute and chronic hypobaric hypoxia. In addition, state-of-the-art equipment is provided for hemodynamic assessments of the pulmonary and systemic circulations. A large Cell Culture and Histopathology Core also supports the scientific projects.
In the Developmental Lung Biology Laboratory, which works cooperatively with the Pediatric Heart Lung Center, directed by Dr. Steven Abman, research work is focused on determining mechanisms involved in lung vascular growth. The centerpiece for the laboratory is a Specialized Centers of Clinically Oriented Research (SCCOR) Program. The SCCOR Program generates clinical and basic information that will provide insight into the mechanisms contributing to the pulmonary vascular abnormalities that characterize BPD. This is done by evaluating current available therapies aimed at reducing lung injury and restoring vascular and lung growth and by examining animal models for new approaches to ameliorating perinatal lung injury and restoring vascular and lung growth. Two clinical and two basic projects address these objectives. The clinical projects evaluate (1) the impact of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) on BPD, and (2) the development of improved techniques to assess the presence of pulmonary hypertension and the responses to therapy in infants with pulmonary hypertension. The two basic projects dissect the mechanisms contributing to lung vascular remodeling in murine, rodent, ovine, and bovine models and evaluate the effects of novel pharmacologic agents on lung vascular disease in these models. Collaborative interactions with National Jewish Health, the Center for Bioengineering and the sections of Pulmonology, Neonatology, and Cardiology drive this program forward.
Faculty Research Interests
Dr. Joseph Albietz's research work is focused on the description of the mechanisms underlying the compensatory and deleterious effects of pulmonary hypertension on the proximal arteries of the pulmonary circulation and right ventricle in children.
Dr. Robert Dale Brown’s research focus is on inflammatory and fibrotic remodeling of the right heart in cardiopulmonary disease.
Dr. Todd Carpenter's research interests include altitude-related illness in children and the effects of viral infections on the pulmonary vasculature and lung fluid balance.
Dr. Angela Czaja’s research interest is in the outcomes of critically ill children with severe influenza infection in the PICU, in addition to PTSD among pediatric critical care nurses.
Dr. Mita Das's current research investigates the mechanisms by which hypoxia alters proliferative responses and signaling mechanisms present in the adventitial fibroblast.
Dr. Emily Dobyns' research efforts are primarily directed towards clinical studies of novel therapies for pediatric acute respiratory failure.
Dr. Maria Frid studies the role of bone marrow-derived inflammatory and progenitor cells in pulmonary vascular remodeling. She investigates the mechanisms leading to the recruitment, retention, and differentiation of stem or progenitor cells in the lung and lung circulation.
Dr. Evgenia Gerasimovskaya's research interests include purinergic signaling pathways in vascular cells, molecular mechanisms of hypoxia-induced ATP (adenosine triphosphate) release, and metabolism of extracellular ATP by ecto-nucleotidases. She also investigates the mechanisms of hypoxic activation of heterotrimeric G proteins, intracellular kinases, as well as Egr-1 transcription factor.
Dr. Eva Grayck is the Director of the Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship Program and has an active laboratory studying the role of reactive oxygen species and antioxidants in the pathogenesis of pediatric pulmonary hypertension. She is interested in the function of reactive oxygen species as signaling molecules that regulate key transcription factors and their downstream targets and in the application of novel antioxidant strategies to treat animal models of BPD and pulmonary hypertension.
Dr. Peter Mourani is fellowship-trained in both pediatric intensive care medicine and pediatric pulmonology. His research work centers on the differences in gene expression pattern between fetal and adult vascular smooth muscle cells.
Dr. Kurt Stenmark is the Director of the Developmental Lung Biology Laboratory at UCD. As the principal investigator of a Specialized Centers of Clinically Oriented Research (SCCOR) grant from the NIH, Dr. Stenmark leads a group investigating the basic cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the response of the developing lung vasculature to hypoxia and other injuries, primarily BPD. Dr. Stenmark also directs a program project grant entitled “Adaptations to Hypoxia” in which a large group of investigators examine the molecular mechanisms through which chronic hypoxia elicits changes in the structure and function of lung blood vessels.
|
|
