Research focus:

• Inflammation as the driver of pulmonary vascular remodeling in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Interplay of different environmental stimuli in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pulmonary hypertension (PH)

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Cell culture (co-culture systems)
• Histology
• Imaging (confocal fluorescence imaging)
• Molecular biology (laser-assisted microdissection - LMD)

Early Career Research Group Members:

• Vinita Sharma
• Derrick Opoku
• Katia Pes

Research focus:

• Developmental pathways responsible for lung structural and functional deterioration in aging and chronic pulmonary diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Impact of altered developmental pathway signaling occurring upon nitrosative/oxidative stress, contributing to the development of pulmonary emphysema and vascular remodeling
• Interaction between pulmonary vasculature and adjacent alveoli in context of disease development and possible tissue repair
• Therapeutic potential and molecular/cellular mechanisms of reactivating developmental pathways to initiate repair in adult lungs

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Molecular biology
• Histology
• Imaging

Research focus:

• Molecular mechanisms of vascular ion channels and their role in blood pressure regulation in the context of pulmonary and systemic hypertension

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Electrophysiology
• Molecular biology (cloning, in vitro transcription, heterologous protein expression, Adeno-associated virus expression vectors)
• Gene-editing techniques (CRISPR/Cas, site-directed mutagenesis)

Research focus:

• Mitochondrial physiology, mitochondria genetics, alternative oxidases in hypoxia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Cytochrome c oxidase remodeling in lung pathophysiology

Expertise:

• Combined high-resolution respirometry and fluorescence spectrometry
• Co-enzyme Q redox measurements
• Cell-free DNA quantification
• Molecular biology
• Imaging (confocal fluorescence imaging)

Research focus:

• Heart dysfunction in pulmonary hypertension (PH)-associated diseases e.g. sleep-disordered breathing, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic exposure to high altitude and left heart disease

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Project planning and assistance

• Organizational responsibilities in the area of research and education
• Supportive position in compliance with legal regulations in the area of research
• Implementation of seminars and hands-on training of employees

Research focus:

• Ferroptosis in the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension
• Impact of neonatal hyperoxic exposure on lung development and its consequences in adulthood

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Molecular biology (microRNAs, fluorescence in-situ hybridization, single-cell RNA sequencing)
• Histology (stereology)
• Imaging

Research focus:

• Mitochondria
• Cellular oxygen sensing
• Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction
• Pulmonary hypertension

Key techniques:

• Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy for measuring reactive nitrogen/oxygen species (RNS/ROS) and bioenergetic profiling
• Imaging (confocal fluorescence imaging)
• Molecular biology (cloning, CRISPR-Cas technology, Adeno-associated virus expression vectors)

Research focus:

• Identification of novel key proteins involved in pulmonary vascular remodeling and assessing their involvement in vascular cell dysfunction in pulmonary hypertension

Expertise:

• Molecular biology
• Cell culture
• Project coordination
• Quality control

Research focus:

• Cell defense mechanisms against environmental stressors (e.g. cigarette smoke, air pollutants, and hypoxia)
• Molecular mechanisms underlying the development of chronic respiratory diseases (e.g. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pulmonary hypertension)

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Cell culture (co-culture systems, air-liquid interface - ALI),
• Molecular biology (transcriptome analyses, capillary-based protein immune assays - JESS, laser-assisted microdissection - LMD)
• Redox biology - electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy for measuring reactive nitrogen/oxygen species (RNS/ROS) and bioenergetic profiling
• Histology (stereology)
• Imaging (live-cell/tissue imaging, confocal fluorescence imaging)
• Imaging analysis (artificial intelligence (AI)-based analyses)

Research focus:

• Lung development and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and the long-term consequences in adults and the role of iNOS in this context

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Cell culture
• Molecular biology

Research focus:

• Investigating the molecular mechanisms by which environmental stimuli drive metabolic shifts in pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cells, leading to structural alterations and disease progression

Expertise:

• Molecular biology (capillary-based protein immune assays - JESS)
• Cell culture
• Advanced microscopy (EVOS M7000 automated imaging systems and high-resolution confocal fluorescence imaging)
• Quantitative image analysis (Celleste, Image-Pro®, artificial intelligence (AI)-based analyses)

Research focus:

• Alveolar epithelial cell plasticity in distal alveolar microenvironment
• Defining how mural cells shape the alveolar epithelial niche and regulate epithelial differentiation dynamics during emphysema development and repair in COPD

Expertise:

• Comprehensive histopathology (classical and multiplex immunostaining, immunocytochemistry, and advanced AI-based image analysis)
• State-of-the-art 2D and 3D imaging (high-resolution confocal microscopy, live-cell imaging, and automated microscopy systems)
• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping

Research focus:

• Investigating how inflammatory and injury-related stimuli reprogramme pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells, driving vascular remodeling and altering the microenvironment in ways that influence alveolar injury and repair processes

Expertise:

• Molecular biology (mRNA expression analysis, capillary-based protein immune assays - JESS)
• Cell culture (2D submerged and Air-Liquid Interface cultures, co-cultures)
• Flow cytometry and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS)

Research focus:

• Mitochondrial signaling pathways in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and its interplay with aging

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Histology
• High-resolution respirometry
• Cell culture
• Molecular biology
• Imaging (live-cell imaging)

Research focus:

• Causes and consequences of cytochrome c oxidase (COX) remodeling in lung diseases

Expertise:

• Cell culture
• Molecular biology
• Imaging (confocal fluorescence imaging, live-cell imaging)

Research focus:

• Mitochondrial T cell reprogramming in virus-induced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations and emphysema progression

Expertise:

• Cell culture
• Flow cytometry - FACS
• Molecular biology (Cytokine analysis)
• High-resolution respirometry

Research focus:

• Mechanism of mitochondrial redox alterations in acute oxygen sensing of the pulmonary vasculature

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Cell culture
• Molecular biology
• Histology
• Imaging (confocal fluorescence imaging, calcium imaging)

Research focus:

• Endothelial communication with alveolar epithelial cells and pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells
• Investigating how fibroblast growth factor 10 (FGF10)-dependent developmental pathways drive COPD progression and evaluating the therapeutic potential of modulating this signaling for lung repair
• Investigating how dysregulated epithelial stress responses and impaired injury-clearance–repair mechanisms contribute to maladaptive remodeling and disease progression during chronic environmental exposure

Expertise:

• Cell culture and functional assays
• Molecular and cellular biology (gene and protein expression analyses, mechanistic perturbation studies)
• Advanced microscopy (EVOS M7000 and high-resolution 2D/3D imaging) and quantitative imaging analysis (including AI-assisted 2D and 3D image evaluation)

Research focus:

• Notch transcription factor RBPJ in the development of pulmonary hypertension

Expertise:

• Molecular biology (capillary-based protein immune assays - JESS, laser-assisted microdissection - LMD)
• Cell culture
• Histology
• Imaging analysis

Research focus:

• Airway biology and interaction with distal lung parenchyma
• Dissecting how impaired epithelial responsiveness to homeostatic developmental signaling pathways destabilize alveolar maintenance and repair during chronic environmental injury

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Quantitative histopathology (including alveolar and vascular morphometry analyses)
• Molecular biology (including mRNA expression analysis, protein immunoassays)

Research focus:

• Impact of dual use of electronic and combustible cigarettes on the development of emphysema and pulmonary hypertension

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Cell culture
• Molecular biology
• Statistical data analysis

Research focus:

• Macrophages in the development of pulmonary hypertension in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Communication pathways between macrophages and pulmonary vascular cells

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Cell culture (co-culture systems)
• Flow cytometry - FACS
• Molecular biology
• Histology

Research focus:

• Alveolar epithelial cell differentiation in aberrant lung repair
• The role of carcinoembryonic antigen cell adhesion molecule 6 (CEACAM6) during alveolar injury and repair in COPD

Expertise:

• Disease pheotyping
• Computational analysis of high-dimensional datasets (bulk RNA-seq, single-cell RNA-seq, genome-wide association data)
• Cell culture
• Flow cytometry for epithelial and immune cell phenotyping

Research focus:

• Interaction between alveolar epithelial and immune cells
• The role of heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1)–mediated antioxidant defence during development of emphysema and vascular alterations upon chronic environmental exposure

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Redox biology (electron spin resonance–based quantification of reactive nitrogen and oxygen species and related metabolic profiling)
• Cell culture (monolayer cultures, advanced 2D models, 3D alveolospheres, 3D bronchioalveolar organoids, air–liquid interface)

Research focus:

• Lipidomics
• Breathing physiology

Expertise:

• Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS)
• MIGET (the multiple inert gas elimination technique)

Expertise:

• Assistance in disease modeling
• Cell culture
• Imaging (calcium imaging)
• Histology
• Lab management

Expertise:

• Molecular biology (among the standard procedures, capillary-based protein immune assays - JESS, laser-assisted microdissection - LMD)
• Lab management

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Histology
• Lab management

Expertise:

• Cell Culture
• Immunocytochemistry
• Lab management

Expertise:

• Phenotyping
• Cell culture
• Electrophysiology

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Histology

Expertise:

• Safety officer for the laboratory area
• Specialist in molecular biology and genetic engineering
• Laser safety officer
• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Histology
• Lab management

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Assistance in experimental design

Expertise:

• Disease phenotyping
• Histology (stereology)
• Cell culture

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Histology