Description of Research Expertise

The overarching goal of my laboratory is to understand the cellular and molecular processes required to generate, maintain, and regenerate the various tissue niches within the mature mammalian respiratory system. My lab has defined the stem/progenitor cell populations in the respiratory system and characterized their temporal and spatial related cell signaling, morphogenetic processes, transcriptional and epigenetic changes that drive their development, maintain their health during homeostasis and promote successful tissue regeneration. We have utilized a broad array of cutting-edge techniques including novel mouse genetic models as well as emerging ex vivo assays such as three-dimensional organoids, precision cut lung slices and advanced live imaging acquisition and analysis tools. We have also pioneered custom approaches to interrogating next generation sequencing genomic datasets that have significantly expanded our current understanding of the interrelatedness of individual cell lineages comprising the lung alveolus. My lab has been a leader in the generation and characterization of murine models of human diseases and we are experts at interrogating the molecular pathways that govern cardiopulmonary development and repair/regeneration processes. I am the founding director for the Penn-CHOP Lung Biology Institute (LBI), a collaborative research center that is focused on advancing both basic and translational aspects of pulmonary research. I have effectively led multiple large scale intra- and inter-University collaborative NIH research projects including the Progenitor Cell Biology Consortium (PCBC), the Lung Repair and Regeneration Consortium (LRRC), the Progenitor Cell Translational Consortium (PCTC) and the LungMap-Phase2 Consortium. Additionally, I have successfully mentored 26 postdoctoral fellows and 10 pre-doctoral students in my lab who have all continued with fruitful and impactful careers in science, many as faculty at leading institutions.