Description of Clinical Expertise

I have expertise in the care of children with Ataxia telangiectasia and formerly preterm children with chronic lung disease and asthma.

Description of Research Expertise

I have a long-standing interest in understanding how early-life lung injury adversely impacts lung health outcomes in later life. As a primary investigator of a translational laboratory, we have used in vivo and in vitro modeling to understand how lung injuries during early-life impact short and long-term respiratory outcomes. Current studies indicate that bacterial pneumonia/lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children < 5 years of age and epidemiological studies report direct links between early-life pneumonia and impaired lung function in adult life. We have extensive expertise in modeling bacterial pneumonia in neonates and juveniles and seek to understand the interactions between age-specific immune responses and lung epithelial recovery. Additionally, we are studying how early-life insults can cause aberrant mesenchymal growth predisposing the lung to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in later life.

As clinical correlates to my laboratory work, I also investigate the links between early life determinants and respiratory health outcomes in formerly preterm children with chronic lung disease. I am the director of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), outpatient BPD program, on the executive committee of the BPD collaborative and co- Chair of the BPD Collaborative outpatient committee.
I started a CHOP BPD outpatient registry in 2020 which currently has 750 participants who are followed longitudinally.
I am particularly interested in identifying modifiers that occur in the outpatient setting that influence respiratory outcomes in later life and may predispose to chronic obstructive lung disease in adult life.