New Kaganov Grant Awardees Announced
The Kaganov Steering Committee and MEDx are pleased to announce the grant winners for the Kaganov Research Initiative in Pulmonary Medicine and Engineering. These grants, of up to $150,000, are awarded to teams undertaking research at the interface of pulmonary medicine and engineering to futher the understanding of pulomary disease mechanisms, enhance diagnosis, or create more effective treatments for idiopathic pulmomary fibrosis and other lung diseases. This is the third year the Kaganov Research Initiative grant has been awarded.
Congratulations to the Kaganov Research Initiative grant awardees:
Shyni Varghese, Ph.D | Biomedical Engineering (BME), Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science (MEMS) and Orthopaedic Surgery
Purushothama Rao Tata, Ph.D. | Cell Biology
Development of a novel lung-on-a-chip platform to model lung pathophysiology
Problem
A major bottleneck in developing new anti-fibrosis therapies is the lack of in-vitro models that recapitulate dynamic changes in physiochemical properties of the tissue during fibrogenesis.
Solution
Our teams will combine engineering and lung expertise to develop a "lung-on-a-chip" model, using human primary alveolar epithelial cells, that is designed to mimic various cardinal features of the native lung tissue in normal and pathological states.
Brent Hoffman, Ph.D. | BME and Cell Biology
Salvatore Pizzo, M.D., Ph.D. | Pathology
Interrogating the role of newly discovered cell surface pro-n-cadherin expressing myofibroblasts in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
Problem
There is a need for novel approaches for the detection and treatment of fibrotic lung disease, yet no consensus marker of pathological fibrotic cells has been identified.
Solution
Building upon the discovery of a fibrotic cell marker by our team, we will assess its potential as a target for therapeutic intervention for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and as a diagnostic tool for detection of disease.