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Critical Care Medicine
Research
The research arm of the Section of Critical Care Medicine comprises the Developmental Lung Biology Laboratory at the University of Colorado Denver (UCD). This group of investigators works to advance our 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 Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
The research work includes studies at the basic molecular and cellular level, as well as translational biology and physiology studies. The laboratory receives substantial funding from the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association.
This investigative group is multidisciplinary and composed of full-time MD and PhD researchers from the Section of Critical Care Medicine, as well as clinicians/scientists from other divisions within the Departments of Pediatrics, Medicine and Anesthesiology at UCDHSC. In addition, close affiliations and collaborations are ongoing with investigators at both the Department of Physiology and the School of Veterinary Medicine at Colorado State University.
Dr. Kurt Stenmark is the Director of the Developmental Lung Biology Laboratory at UCDHSC. As the principal investigator of a Specialized Center of Research (SCOR) Grant from the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Stenmark leads a group investigating the basic cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in pulmonary vascular remodeling and the response of the lung vasculature to hypoxia and other injuries.
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. Mita Das's current research interests include investigating 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's research centers on the heterogeneity of smooth muscle cell populations within the vascular wall and transdifferentiation of vascular wall cell phenotypes.
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. Her research interests also involve investigating the mechanisms of hypoxic activation of heterotrimeric G proteins, intracellular kinases, as well as Egr-1 transcription factor.
Dr. Eva Grayck's research focuses on new mechanisms by which reactive oxygen and nitrogen species regulate pulmonary vascular function in developing and mature lungs.
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.
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