RESEARCH
Airway disease affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Features of airway disease include persistent cough, thick and sticky mucus, exaggerated airway smooth muscle contraction, apnea, and difficulty breathing. We are working towards defining the neural mechanisms that govern these features.
Our lab specializes in asthma and cystic fibrosis. Using in vivo and in vitro model systems, we aim to answer the following key questions: 1) Is dysfunction of the nervous system sufficient to induce airway disease? 2) What are the neural substrates that detect airway insults? 3) Can targeting the nervous system prevent airway disease?
We utilize numerous techniques ranging from basic molecular biology to microscopy to ion transport studies to whole animal physiology. We interested in the bidirectional communication of the airway (i.e. epithelia, smooth muscle, submucosal glands, etc) with key brain regions (brainstem, amygdala, cortex). The goal of all our efforts is to improve human health and discover new mechanisms of airway disease.