Archive: 2010

Associate Professor Maria Ramirez and colleagues publish in the Journal of Biological Chemistry how epigenetic changes dictate which cells make surfactant proteins in the lung.
Assistant Professor Andrew Wilson and colleagues publish in The Journal of Clinical Investigation evidence that alveolar macrophages are long-lived cells which can be genetically modified for therapeutic benefit, in this case to diminish emphysema in a mouse model.
Professor George O’Connor and colleagues publish in Nature Genetics the association of novel gene regions with altered lung function, based on large scale genomics analyses of >20,000 patients with chronic lung disease.
Pulmonary Center junior faculty have had a wonderful string of recent successes. 

  • Assistant Professor Xingbin Ai received an R01 grant from the NIH to study whether heparan sulfate-modifying enzymes are promising therapeutic targets for reversing effects of aging on muscle. 
  • Assistant Professor Matthew Jones received an R01 grant from the NIH to study roles of the miRNA-modifying protein Zcchc11 in pulmonary inflammation. 
  • Assistant Professor Lee Quinton received an R00 grant from the NIH to study functional interactions between the lung and liver during pneumonia. 
  • Assistant Professor Andrew Wilson received a K08 grant from the NIH to elucidate roles of alveolar macrophages in COPD, as well as an award from the Alpha-1 Foundation to explore gene therapy approaches for patients with alpha-1 antiprotease deficiency. 
  • Assistant Professor Renda Wiener received a K07 grant from the NIH to study clinical decision-making for pulmonary nodules. 
  • Assistant Professor Hasmeena Kathuria received a Lung Cancer Research Program grant from the Department of Defense to study roles of Ets transcription factors in the progression of lung cancer. 
  • Assistant Professor Ting Chen received a Physician-Scientist Training Award from the American Sleep Medicine Foundation for genome-wide association studies of sleep phenotypes. 
  • Assistant Professor Ross Summer received a Robert Dawson Evans Junior Faculty Merit Award from the Department of Medicine to study roles of adiponectin in pulmonary inflammation. 

Well-deserved recognition for up-and-coming stars of the Pulmonary Center!
Assistant Professor Felicia Chen and colleagues report in The Journal of Clinical Investigation a signaling network essential to lung development and implicated in congenital lung disease resulting from genetic or nutritional deficiencies of Vitamin A.
PhD student Constantina Christodoulou from Darrell Kotton’s lab receives first prize in the Russek Student Achievement Day hosted by the BU Division of Graduate Medical Sciences.
The Pulmonary Center had a significant presence at the 2010 International Conference of the American Thoracic Society held Friday, May 14th to Wednesday, May 19th in New Orleans, LA.
Associate Professor Avrum Spira and colleagues publish in Science Translational Medicine that the PI3 kinase pathway may be useful as a biomarker and pharmacological target for patients with or at risk for lung cancer.
Pulmonary Center faculty were recipients of 2010 awards for exceptional service to the BUSM Department of Medicine.  Associate Professor Christine Campbell Reardon received the Outstanding Citizenship Award, and Professor Hap Farber received the Special Recognition Teaching Award. 
Both Associate Professor Darrell Kotton and Associate Professor Avrum Spira were elected to become members of the American Society of Clinical Investigation as of 2011.  The ASCI is a medical honor society for physician-scientists with outstanding records of scholarly achievement in biomedical research.
Professor Jerry Brody was a recipient of the 2010 Alton Ochsner Award from the American College of Chest Physicians, presented at their annual meeting in early November.  The prime criterion for this award is scientific impact on the major health threats posed by tobacco use.  Dr. Brody was recognized for his outstanding and exemplary basic science investigations, fundamental in scope, relating tobacco consumption and health.
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April 5, 2012
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