The overarching goal of my research is to protect and improve human health by elucidating mechanisms of pulmonary injury and repair following exposure to air pollutants and chemical threat agents. I am particularly interested in how biological sex modifies pulmonary and extrapulmonary responses to inhaled toxicants; this is a critical area of research as it is abundantly clear that sex differences in anatomy and physiology affect pathophysiological responses to toxicants and disease outcomes.
My present studies are focused on investigating a role for estrogen receptor alpha (ERĪ±) signaling mechanisms in regulating macrophage activation in response to ozone exposure. This work leverages my graduate training in estrogen receptor biology and pulmonary toxicology, and my postdoctoral studies in inflammation and ozone toxicity. We answer these important questions using techniques including flow cytometry, live cell bioenergetic measurements, single-cell RNA-sequencing, qPCR, lung function analyses, and histopathological assessments in wild type and transgenic mouse models.