Research Overview

Lung epithelial injury is the near-universal outcome of multiple pulmonary insults.  Rapid restoration of epithelial integrity prevents organ dysfunction and superadded bacterial infection, but aberrant tissue repair is a frequent and often fatal outcome in disease.  By understanding how the immune response assists with lung regeneration we aim to develop new treatments that promote lung repair after serious infection or damage.  In particular, macrophage-derived signals are critical in regeneration but these remain poorly understood.  We are investigating how macrophage-epithelial communication contributes to tissue repair and inflammation resolution and how this can be exploited therapeutically to treat disease.