Katrina E. Traber, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, 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.
Other Positions
- Member, Pulmonary Center, Boston University
- Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research, Boston University
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
Publications
- Published on 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 on 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 on 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 on 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 - Published on 2/25/2023
Korkmaz FT, Traber KE. Innate immune responses in pneumonia. Pneumonia (Nathan). 2023 Feb 25; 15(1):4. PMID: 36829255.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 12/8/2022
Korkmaz FT, Shenoy AT, Symer EM, Baird LA, Odom CV, Arafa EI, Dimbo EL, Na E, Molina-Arocho W, Brudner M, Standiford TJ, Mehta JL, Sawamura T, Jones MR, Mizgerd JP, Traber KE, Quinton LJ. Lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor 1 attenuates pneumonia-induced lung injury. JCI Insight. 2022 Dec 08; 7(23). PMID: 36264633.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 2/9/2022
Na E, Allen E, Baird LA, Odom CV, Korkmaz FT, Shenoy AT, Matschulat AM, Jones MR, Kotton DN, Mizgerd JP, Varelas X, Traber KE, Quinton LJ. Epithelial LIF signaling limits apoptosis and lung injury during bacterial pneumonia. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2022 Apr 01; 322(4):L550-L563. PMID: 35137631.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/1/2021
Traber KE, Center DM. Toward a More Precise Solution to Asthma Therapy. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2021 09; 65(3):241-242. PMID: 34153196.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/1/2021
Odom CV, Kim Y, Burgess CL, Baird LA, Korkmaz FT, Na E, Shenoy AT, Arafa EI, Lam TT, Jones MR, Mizgerd JP, Traber KE, Quinton LJ. Liver-Dependent Lung Remodeling during Systemic Inflammation Shapes Responses to Secondary Infection. J Immunol. 2021 10 01; 207(7):1891-1902. PMID: 34470857.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 3/17/2021
Traber KE, Dimbo EL, Shenoy AT, Symer EM, Allen E, Mizgerd JP, Quinton LJ. Neutrophil-Derived Oncostatin M Triggers Diverse Signaling Pathways during Pneumonia. Infect Immun. 2021 03 17; 89(4). PMID: 33526570.
Read at: PubMed
View 11 more publications: View full profile at BUMC