CVRI Scientists

Dean Sheppard, M.D.
Professor of Medicine

Research Interests:
In vivo function of integrins and molecular basis of lung diseases

Summary:
Our lab studies how a family of proteins (integrins) that provide cells with detailed information about their surroundings contributes to the development of common lung diseases. The lab has made lines of mice missing specific integrins and has found that specific lines are protected from the development of asthma and pulmonary fibrosis (a chronic and usually fatal disease). Some of the lines are also protected in models of the adult respiratory distress syndrome, the most common cause of respiratory failure and a common cause of death in hospitalized patients. Current work in the lab is investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects in order to develop new strategies for treating these challenging (in the case of asthma) or currently untreatable diseases (pulmonary fibrosis and adult respiratory distress syndrome).