Katrina E. Traber, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

The long-term goal of the Traber Lab is to identify and develop new strategies to treat severe neutrophil-based sequelae of pneumonia such as ARDS and sepsis. To achieve this goal, we use in vivo and in vitro models of pneumonia to investigate mechanisms of neutrophil dysfunction in acute lung infections. Currently, we have been using two broad approaches to understand neutrophil biology. First, we are examining modulation of the neutrophil transcriptome during neutrophil migration from circulation to the alveolar space. Second, we are investigating how Oncostatin M (OSM), an IL-6 family cytokine produced by neutrophils in many acute and chronic inflammatory settings, including pneumonia, ARDS and sepsis potentiates neutrophil migration to the alveoli during pneumonia.

If you are interested in joining our research group, please contact Dr. Traber at katraber@bu.edu.

Publications

  • Published 3/4/2025

    Traber KE, Mizgerd JP. The Integrated Pulmonary Immune Response to Pneumonia. Annu Rev Immunol. 2025 Apr; 43(1):545-569. PMID: 40036700.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 2/25/2025

    Soucy AM, Brune JE, Jayaraman A, Shenoy AT, Korkmaz FT, Etesami NS, Hiller BE, Martin IM, Goltry WN, Ha CT, Crossland NA, Campbell JD, Beach TG, Traber KE, Jones MR, Quinton LJ, Bosmann M, Frevert CW, Mizgerd JP. Transcriptomic responses of lung mesenchymal cells during pneumonia. JCI Insight. 2025 Feb 25; 10(7). PMID: 39998887.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 9/1/2024

    Auld SC, Sheshadri A, Alexander-Brett J, Aschner Y, Barczak AK, Basil MC, Cohen KA, Dela Cruz C, McGroder C, Restrepo MI, Ridge KM, Schnapp LM, Traber K, Wunderink RG, Zhang D, Ziady A, Attia EF, Carter J, Chalmers JD, Crothers K, Feldman C, Jones BE, Kaminski N, Keane J, Lewinsohn D, Metersky M, Mizgerd JP, Morris A, Ramirez J, Samarasinghe AE, Staitieh BS, Stek C, Sun J, Evans SE. Postinfectious Pulmonary Complications: Establishing Research Priorities to Advance the Field: An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2024 Sep; 21(9):1219-1237. PMID: 39051991.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 4/23/2024

    Etesami NS, Barker KA, Shenoy AT, De Ana CL, Arafa EI, Grifno GN, Matschulat AM, Vannini ME, Pihl RMF, Breen MP, Soucy AM, Goltry WN, Ha CT, Betsuyaku H, Browning JL, Varelas X, Traber KE, Jones MR, Quinton LJ, Maglione PJ, Nia HT, Belkina AC, Mizgerd JP. B cells in the pneumococcus-infected lung are heterogeneous and require CD4+ T cell help including CD40L to become resident memory B cells. Front Immunol. 2024; 15:1382638. PMID: 38715601.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 9/14/2023

    Banerji R, Grifno GN, Shi L, Smolen D, LeBourdais R, Muhvich J, Eberman C, Hiller BE, Lee J, Regan K, Zheng S, Zhang S, Jiang J, Raslan AA, Breda JC, Pihl R, Traber K, Mazzilli S, Ligresti G, Mizgerd JP, Suki B, Nia HT. Crystal ribcage: a platform for probing real-time lung function at cellular resolution. Nat Methods. 2023 Nov; 20(11):1790-1801. PMID: 37710017.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 22 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Other Positions

  • Member, Pulmonary Center
    Boston University
  • Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research
    Boston University

Websites

Education

  • New York University School of Medicine, MD
  • New York University School of Medicine, PhD
  • New York University School of Medicine, MS
  • Wesleyan University, BA

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