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Pulmonology
Research
The Pulmonology faculty participate in basic and clinical research, examining the causes and treatments of a wide range of pediatric pulmonary disorders. As a national referral center, the Section of Pulmonology is dedicated to providing professional education at all levels and is committed to advancing knowledge through our comprehensive research programs. More than 35 clinical research studies in pediatric pulmonary disorders are ongoing at any given time.
Faculty Research Interests
Dr. Steven Abman, Director of the Pediatric Heart Lung Center, is an internationally renowned investigator in a number areas of pediatric pulmonology. He has made important contributions to vascular biology and growth and development of the lung through his basic investigations. In addition, he has led important clinical research studies in pediatric pulmonary hypertension, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and other disorders. Dr. Abman's pioneering work in the use of nitric oxide to treat infants and children with pulmonary hypertension resulted in his receiving the prestigious Excellence in Pediatric Research Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Abman's research is supported by the NIH and other agencies.
Dr. Frank Accurso is internationally known for his work with newborn screening and the description of early lung disease in infants with cystic fibrosis. Following the selection of UCD as one of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Therapeutics Development Centers, he has been increasingly active in the development and study of new therapies and techniques for outcomes research. Dr. Accurso's research is supported by the NIH and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Dr. Christopher Baker studies endothelial progenitor cells and their role in normal pulmonary vascular development and lung disease. He is currently analyzing these cells in umbilical cord blood samples obtained from term and premature infants at birth. Dr. Baker is hopeful that further research in this area will lead to novel therapies for bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a chronic lung disease associated with prematurity. Clinically, Dr. Baker is interested in the care of preterm infants with lung disease and associated cardiopulmonary disorders such as pulmonary hypertension. Dr. Baker's research is supported by the NIH and the American Thoracic Society.
Dr. Vivek Balasubramaniam's research interest is in the mechanisms underlying lung vascular and alveolar development, especially in response to stress and injury. His focus is on the role of nitric oxide and other factors in the growth and development of blood vessels in the lung. His research holds the promise of helping infants with disorders of lung development. Dr. Balasubramaniam's research is supported by the NIH.
Dr. Susan Brugman is based at National Jewish Health. She is a leading expert in the care of children with vocal cord dysfunction and asthma.
Dr. Keith Cavanaugh's research activities include working with the State of Colorado in the ongoing development of a program that will help health care providers address the risks of Second Hand Smoke Exposure (SHS) with their patients and motivate caregivers to decrease tobacco exposure to their children.
Dr. Robin Deterding is internationally recognized for her research in children with interstitial lung disease (chILD), clinical studies in cystic fibrosis, and medical education. Her current clinical research focus includes interstitial lung disease, complex lung disease, and pulmonary complications of bone marrow transplant and connective tissue disease in children. She is a founding member of the Children's Interstitial Lung Disease (chILD) Foundation.
Dr. Monica Federico heads the outpatient asthma program to complement the inpatient asthma pathway at The Children's Hospital and is involved with several clinical studies involving outcomes research in asthma. Dr. Federico is also involved in the care of Spanish-speaking children with pulmonary disease, including asthma and cystic fibrosis.
Dr. Norman Friedman’s research interests include evaluating the peri-operative morbidity of sleep-disordered breathing in children as well as whether a parent’s personality profile can predict a child’s continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) compliance.
Dr. Ann Halbower is nationally recognized for her research and clinical work in pediatric sleep disorders. Her current study, funded by the NIH, investigates the impact of childhood sleep-disordered breathing on learning, memory, and neuronal brain injury. She is initiating a Children’s Hospital-based community outreach program in prevention of sudden unexpected death in infants. She is also teaming up with obesity prevention teams at TCH and UCD to determine the risk of the combined problems of obesity and sleep apnea and the effects of treatment. Dr. Halbower is the Vice Chair of the Health Policy Committee at the American Thoracic Society, which strives to change legislation to improve sleep and respiratory disorders.
Dr. J. Kirk Harris is investigating the role of the microbiome in pediatric pulmonary disease. His work is funded through the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the NIH.
Dr. Gwendolyn Kerby has developed the infant pulmonary function testing laboratory and is active in several clinical studies involving young children with cystic fibrosis, asthma, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and pulmonary hypertension. Dr. Kerby's research is supported through the NIH, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the State of Colorado.
Dr. Marzena Krawiec, based at National Jewish Health, is a leading clinical investigator in asthma. She participates in several asthma networks through the NIH.
Dr. Gary Larsen, based at National Jewish Health, is internationally recognized for his research into the basic causes of asthma. Additionally, he is currently involved as one of the directors of several multicenter national studies looking at therapeutic options for children with asthma. He has participated in several NIH study groups and remains actively involved with setting national goals for asthma research.
Dr. Scott Sagel is nationally recognized for his clinical research involving children with cystic fibrosis and primary ciliary dyskinesia. He is funded by the NIH and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to study biomarkers of airway inflammation and injury in children with these conditions. He chairs the Induced Sputum/Inflammatory Biomarkers Working Group for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Therapeutics Development Network and he is Associate Director of the Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis Center.
Dr. Jeffrey Wagener is the Pulmonology Fellowship director. His research activities primarily involve the epidemiology of cystic fibrosis. As a member of the North American Scientific Advisory Group for the Epidemiologic Study for Cystic Fibrosis, he is involved with many projects identifying associations between treatments and outcomes in cystic fibrosis. Additionally, he is interested in quality improvement as a research tool to change outcomes for patients with cystic fibrosis.
Dr. Carl White, who is based at National Jewish Health, is a world leader in the study of oxidant-mediated lung injury in humans. Having developed several animal and cell culture models for lung injury, he has extended his studies from "the bench to the bedside" by looking at how cells are injured by oxidants and the preventive benefit of antioxidants and other protective interventions.
Dr. Edith Zemanick’s research interest is airway infection in children with cystic fibrosis. She is currently funded by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to study molecular detection of polymicrobial infection in cystic fibrosis. She has several ongoing clinical research projects supported by the Colorado Clinical Translational Sciences Institute.
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