Research in my laboratory broadly focuses on mechanisms that regulate the integrity of the alveolar septal barrier in the lung and the pathobiology which leads to the development of acute lung injury. The role of lung endothelial heterogeneity with respect to calcium channel expression and regulation of endothelial barrier function are of particular interest. Our current work focuses on 1) the role of the vanilloid transient receptor potential calcium channel TRPV4 in acute lung injury, 2) intracellular localization of TRPV4 in lung endothelium in relation to focal adhesion plaques, and 3) the roles of TRPV4 and soluble epoxide hydrolase in modulating Pseudomonas aeruginosa-induced acute lung injury.
