Research Program Highlights

Lung Biology T32 Training Program

The three major aims of our training program are to:

• Provide three years of rigorous scientific training for physician-scientists, enabling them to serve as independent investigators examining scientific questions directly related to human lung disease.

• Provide up to three years of postdoctoral training to PhD scientists, focusing their studies in lung biology.

• Train graduate students from the MD-PhD program and other established degree-granting programs – and guide them into careers in lung research.

MD trainees are strongly encouraged to obtain advanced degrees to optimize their opportunities for a successful investigative career.

Lung Biology T32 Page

T32 Trainees

VA Research Program Highlights

The Minneapolis VA Health Care System (MVAHCS) is a 300+ bed acute care, tertiary, regional referral hospital with multiple community-based clinics and a rich research environment. The Pulmonary Section consists of nine full time and two part time faculty members, seven of which have active research funding. Our clinical and translational research programs focus on COPD, smoking cessation, air pollution including deployment exposure, lung cancer, sleep, HIV associated comorbidities, and health services research including disparities in health care delivery. In addition, three faculty whose research focuses on health services are members of the Center for Care Delivery and Outcomes Research (CCDOR), a VA Center of Innovation. Research funding comes from NIH, VA, and Department of Defense, with combined publications averaging over 30 annually.

VA Faculty

Selected Recent Publications from the VA research program (Recent U of M Fellows highlighted)

• MacDonald DM, Helgeson ES, Dransfield MT, Adabag S, Casaburi R, Connett JE, Stringer WW, Voelker H, Kunisaki KM. Chronotropic index and acute exacerbations of COPD: A secondary analysis of BLOCK COPD. Annals of the American Thoracic Society 2021. In press.

• Baldomero, AK, KM Kunisaki, J Connett, A Pilon, CH Wendt, Club Cell Secretory Protein (CCSP) is Reduced in Hospitalized Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Exacerbations. Int J COPD, 2020, 15:2461-2464, PMCID: PMC7553259, PMID 33116461

• Amundson WH, EJ Swanson, A Peterson, BJ Bell, C Hatt, CH Wendt. Quantification of Perinodular Emphysema in High-Risk Patients Offers No Benefit in Lung Nodule Risk-Stratification of Malignancy Potential. Journal of Thoracic Imaging. 2020. 35(2):108-114

• Henkle BE, Colangelo L, Dransfield MT, Hou L, Jacobs DR, Joyce BT, Pistenmaa CA, Putman RK, Sidney S, Thyagarajan B, Washko G, Yaffe K, Kalhan R, Kunisaki KM. The presence of emphysema on chest imaging and mid-life cognition. ERJ Open Research. 2021 Mar 15;7(1): 00048-2021

• Baldomero AK, Melzer AC, Greer N, Majeski BN, MacDonald R, Linskens EJ, Wilt TJ. Effectiveness and Harms of High-Flow Nasal Oxygen for Acute Respiratory Failure: An Evidence Report for a Clinical Guideline From the American College of Physicians. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2021 Apr 27. PMID: 33900793; PMCID: PMC8292205. 

Current and recent T32 fellows discuss their research projects.

Regions Hospital Research Highlights

Dr. John J. Marini is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota and has spent much of his career providing critical care for patients at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, MN. He has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed articles, 20 book chapters, and is the co-author of the well-known textbook "Critical Care Medicine: The Essentials," which is currently in its 5th edition. He continues to serve on the editorial boards of several journals and has received numerous academic awards, including the American Thoracic Society Distinguished Achievement Award. He is a world-renowned expert in the areas of respiratory mechanics, ARDS management, and ventilator-induced lung injury.

He has served as research mentor for many pulmonary/critical care fellows at the University of Minnesota. Recent/current projects have focused on the role of energy load/power in ventilator-induced lung injury, alternative methods for determining lung compliance at the bedside, and the effects on chest wall loading on respiratory mechanics in severe ARDS.

Selected Recent Publications from Dr. Marini's lab (U of M Fellows highlighted)

• Syed MKH, Selickman J, Evans MD, Dries D, Marini JJ. Elastic Power of Mechanical Ventilation in Morbid Obesity and Severe Hypoxemia. Respir Care. 2021 Apr;66(4):626-634. doi: 10.4187/respcare.08234. Epub 2020 Dec 1. PMID: 33262172.

• Rocco PRM, Silva PL, Samary CS, Hayat Syed MK, Marini JJ. Elastic power but not driving power is the key promoter of ventilator-induced lung injury in experimental acute respiratory distress syndrome. Crit Care. 2020 Jun 3;24(1):284. doi: 10.1186/s13054-020-03011-4. PMID: 32493362; PMCID: PMC7271482.

• Keenan JC, Cortes-Puentes GA, Zhang L, Adams AB, Dries DJ, Marini JJ. PEEP titration: the effect of prone position and abdominal pressure in an ARDS model. Intensive Care Med Exp. 2018 Jan 30;6(1):3. doi: 10.1186/s40635-018-0170-9. PMID: 29380160; PMCID: PMC5789120.

• Keenan JC, Cortes-Puentes GA, Adams AB, Dries DJ, Marini JJ. The Effect of Compartmental Asymmetry on the Monitoring of Pulmonary Mechanics and Lung Volumes. Respir Care. 2016 Nov;61(11):1536-1542. doi: 10.4187/respcare.04813. Epub 2016 Oct 18. PMID: 27794083.

• Baldomero AK, Skarda PK, Marini JJ. Driving Pressure: Defining the Range. Respir Care. 2019 Aug;64(8):883-889. doi: 10.4187/respcare.06599. Epub 2019 May 14. PMID: 31088990.