Christina Eleanor Barkauskas

Christina Eleanor Barkauskas

Associate Professor of Medicine

I am a physician-scientist and stem cell biologist focused on understanding the fundamental mechanisms involved in lung injury and repair. I am particularly interested in determining the critical components of the alveolar epithelial stem cell niche and the cellular crosstalk signals that dictate cell identity and behavior during steady state maintenance and repair after injury and infection. I believe this work is fundamental to better understanding the biology of the human lung and the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a disease that is characterized by relentless scar accumulation in the lung with only minimally effective therapy short of lung transplant.

Through my work, I have developed several areas of expertise which include the following: 1) Development and use of mouse models to genetically manipulate and lineage trace specific cell populations; 2) Isolation and characterization of murine lung cell subpopulations by flow cytometry; 3) Development and use of an ex vivo 3-dimensional organoid assay to study the self-renewal and differentiation of murine alveolar epithelial stem cells and their niche components; 4) Isolation and 3-dimensional culture of alveolar epithelial cells from fresh human lung; 5) Development and analysis of models of experimental lung fibrosis.

Appointments and Affiliations

  • Associate Professor of Medicine
  • Affiliate of the Duke Regeneration Center

Contact Information

  • Office Location: Dept of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710
  • Office Phone: +1 919 681 6845
  • Email Address: christina.barkauskas@duke.edu

Education

  • Duke University, School of Medicine, 2012
  • Duke University, School of Medicine, 2011
  • Duke University, School of Medicine, 2009
  • Duke University, 2008
  • Duke University, 2007
  • M.D. Duke University, School of Medicine, 2004

In the News

Representative Publications

  • Konkimalla, A; Konishi, S; Macadlo, L; Kobayashi, Y; Farino, ZJ; Miyashita, N; El Haddad, L; Morowitz, J; Barkauskas, CE; Agarwal, P; Souma, T; ElMallah, MK; Tata, A; Tata, PR, Transitional cell states sculpt tissue topology during lung regeneration., Cell Stem Cell, vol 30 no. 11 (2023), pp. 1486-1502.e9 [10.1016/j.stem.2023.10.001] [abs].
  • Bergin, SP; Chemaly, RF; Dadwal, SS; Hill, JA; Lee, YJ; Haidar, G; Luk, A; Drelick, A; Chin-Hong, PV; Benamu, E; Khawaja, F; Nanayakkara, D; Papanicolaou, GA; Small, CB; Fung, M; Barron, MA; Davis, T; McClain, MT; Maziarz, EK; Madut, DB; Bedoya, AD; Gilstrap, DL; Todd, JL; Barkauskas, CE; Bigelow, R; Leimberger, JD; Tsalik, EL; Wolf, O; Mughar, M; Hollemon, D; Duttagupta, R; Lupu, DS; Bercovici, S; Perkins, BA; Blauwkamp, TA; Fowler, VG; Holland, TL, Plasma Microbial Cell-Free DNA Sequencing in Immunocompromised Patients with Pneumonia: A Prospective Observational Study., Clin Infect Dis (2023) [10.1093/cid/ciad599] [abs].
  • Brown, SM; Barkauskas, CE; Grund, B; Sharma, S; Phillips, AN; Leither, L; Peltan, ID; Lanspa, M; Gilstrap, DL; Mourad, A; Lane, K; Beitler, JR; Serra, AL; Garcia, I; Almasri, E; Fayed, M; Hubel, K; Harris, ES; Middleton, EA; Barrios, MAG; Mathews, KS; Goel, NN; Acquah, S; Mosier, J; Hypes, C; Salvagio Campbell, E; Khan, A; Hough, CL; Wilson, JG; Levitt, JE; Duggal, A; Dugar, S; Goodwin, AJ; Terry, C; Chen, P; Torbati, S; Iyer, N; Sandkovsky, US; Johnson, NJ; Robinson, BRH; Matthay, MA; Aggarwal, NR; Douglas, IS; Casey, JD; Hache-Marliere, M; Georges Youssef, J; Nkemdirim, W; Leshnower, B; Awan, O; Pannu, S; O'Mahony, DS; Manian, P; Awori Hayanga, JW; Wortmann, GW; Tomazini, BM; Miller, RF; Jensen, J-U; Murray, DD; Bickell, NA; Zatakia, J; Burris, S; Higgs, ES; Natarajan, V; Dewar, RL; Schechner, A; Kang, N; Arenas-Pinto, A; Hudson, F; Ginde, AA; Self, WH; Rogers, AJ; Oldmixon, CF; Morin, H; Sanchez, A; Weintrob, AC; Cavalcanti, AB; Davis-Karim, A; Engen, N; Denning, E; Taylor Thompson, B; Gelijns, AC; Kan, V; Davey, VJ; Lundgren, JD; Babiker, AG; Neaton, JD; Lane, HC; ACTIV-3b/Therapeutics for Severely Ill Inpatients with COVID-19 (TESICO) Study Group, , Intravenous aviptadil and remdesivir for treatment of COVID-19-associated hypoxaemic respiratory failure in the USA (TESICO): a randomised, placebo-controlled trial., Lancet Respir Med, vol 11 no. 9 (2023), pp. 791-803 [10.1016/S2213-2600(23)00147-9] [abs].
  • Bowdish, ME; Barkauskas, CE; Overbey, JR; Gottlieb, RL; Osman, K; Duggal, A; Marks, ME; Hupf, J; Fernandes, E; Leshnower, BG; Golob, JL; Iribarne, A; Rassias, AJ; Moquete, EG; O'Sullivan, K; Chang, HL; Williams, JB; Parnia, S; Patel, NC; Desai, ND; Vekstein, AM; Hollister, BA; Possemato, T; Romero, C; Hou, PC; Burke, E; Hayes, J; Grossman, F; Itescu, S; Gillinov, M; Pagani, FD; O'Gara, PT; Mack, MJ; Smith, PK; Bagiella, E; Moskowitz, AJ; Gelijns, AC, A Randomized Trial of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells for Moderate to Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome from COVID-19., Am J Respir Crit Care Med, vol 207 no. 3 (2023), pp. 261-270 [10.1164/rccm.202201-0157OC] [abs].
  • Mylonakis, E; Barkauskas, C; Poulakou, G; Young, BE; ACTIV-3/TICO Study Group*, , Efficacy and Safety of Ensovibep for Adults Hospitalized With COVID-19., Ann Intern Med, vol 176 no. 2 (2023) [10.7326/L22-0456] [abs].