The lung lab focuses on two main research areas: the pulmonary surfactant system and lung injury.

Our research focuses on the pulmonary surfactant system, a film of lipids and proteins located at the inner surface of the lung. At this location, surfactant performs a function crucial for healthy respiration, namely the reduction of surface tension at the alveolar surface. The importance of this function is best illustrated by the lung dysfunction that occurs in premature babies born with a deficiency in surfactant. Up until the 1980s, surfactant deficiency due to prematurity was one of the main causes of infant death. The development of exogenous surfactant to supplement the lungs of affected babies has dramatically improved infant survival in the Western world. Our research encompasses various  aspects of surfactant function and dysfunction

Lung injury, or the more serious acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), is an important clinical problem with significant mortality caused by both direct and indirect insults to the lung. Mortality in lung injury is due to tissue injury caused by dysfunction of microvascular endothelial cells (MVECs), leading to loss of barrier function and influx of inflammatory cells, as well as surfactant dysfunction which also contributes to decreased lung function. Despite intensive research, no effective therapy for lung injury exists.  Our research uses model systems that accurate reflect human conditions to study the development of lung injury.