At The University of North Carolina Cystic Fibrosis and Pulmonary Research and Treatment Center, basic research is underway to improve our understanding of Cystic Fibrosis. A wide array of approaches are being utilized with the hopes of discovering new treatment breakthroughs. Particular areas of interest include airway epithelial cell biology, transgenic animals, gene therapy for CF lung disease, airway epithelial mucin secretion biology, mediators of inflammation in the airway epithelium, epithelial ion transport, mucociliary clearance, and extracellular nucleotide receptors.

Below are brief summaries of each faculty member's specific interests as well as links to detailed descriptions of their ongoing research, recent publications, and information about their laboratories.

Lubna Abdullah, PhD

Mucin Synthesis Pathways and Secretion in Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells

Richard Boucher, MD

Normal Physiology of Airway Surface Liquids (ASL); ASL System Failure in CF and COPD

Peter Bove, PhD

Regulation of Alveolar Surface Liquid Volume (AvSL)

Brian Button, PhD

Role of the Pericilliary Layer (PCL) and Mucociliary Clearance in Airways

Ray A. Caldwell, PhD

Ion Transport the Cellular and Single Protein Levels; Characterization of Biophysical and Pharmacological Properties of ENaC

Michael Chua, PhD

Development of Novel Light Microscopy and Imaging Technologies for Cell Biology and Physiology

Raymond Coakley, PhD

 

C. William Davis, PhD

Regulation of Mucociliary Clearance in Airways

Claire Doerschuk, MD

Host Defense Mechanisms in the Lungs, Bacterial Pneumonia, Acute Lung Injury/Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Cigarette- Induced Lung Disease

Scott H Donaldson, MD

Airway Surface Liquid Volume and Regulation of ENaC

Camille Ehre, PhD

Mucin Gene and Glycoprotein Expression Patterns

Martina Gentzsch, PhD

Routing and Regulation of Ion Channels, Rescue of Mutant CFTR

Barbara Grubb, PhD

Ion and water transport across epithelia, Mouse Models, Cardiopulmonary Comparative Physiology

Xueliang Guo, PhD

Mucin Polymorphism as Genetic Modifier of Cystic Fibrosis Lung Disease

David B Hill, PhD

Mucus Structure, Rheology, and Flow; Mucus Adhesion; Cilia Force Generation

Michael Ray Knowles, MD

 

Mehmet Kesimer, PhD

Airway Mucin and Mucus Biochemistry and Proteomics

Silvia M Kreda, PhD

Cell Biology of the Airway Epithelium: Regulation of Mucin Secretion and Nucleotide Release in Airway Epithelial Cells

Eduardo Lazarowski, PhD

Molecular Basis of Nucleotide Release in Airways

Alessandra Livraghi, PhD

Mouse Model Development for Defective Airway Mucus Clearance Studies

Wanda O'Neal, PhD

Molecular Genetics

Lawrence Ostrowski, PhD

Structure and Function of Cilia; Diseases of Cilia and Mucociliary Clearance; Gene Therapy of CF and Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia

Raymond J Pickles, PhD

Innate Immune Factors in CF and COPD Patients; Development of Gene Therapy for Viral Infection

Scott H Randell, PhD

Airway Epithelial Stem Cells, Airway Innate Immunity and Response to Injury, mRNA regulation

Carla Ribeiro, PhD

Inflammation Mechanisms in CF, COPD, and Asthma

John Riordan, PhD

Structure, Function and Biosynthetic Processing of Membrane Proteins

Patrick Sears, PhD

 

John Sheehan, PhD

Biophysics and Biochemistry of Glycoconjugates; Dynamics of Cilia- Mucus and Biomolecule- Water Interactions

Jaclyn Stonebraker, PhD

Inflammation Mechanisms in CF, COPD, and Asthma

M. Jackson Stutts, PhD

ENaC- Mediated Na⁺ Absorption by Airway Epithelia in CF Patients

Robert Tarran, PhD

Airway Epithelial Cell Biology and Airway Surface Liquid Homeostasis in CF and COPD

Matthew C Wolfgang, PhD

Molecular Mechanisms of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa

James Yankaskas, MD

 

Maimoona Zariwala, PhD

Genetic Analysis of Patients with Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD)

Yunxiang Zhu, PhD

Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Mucin Secretion from Agonist-Stimulated Pathways

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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