Skip to Main

Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine Research

The Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine has a large number of active research programs with ongoing studies in vascular biology, gas exchange, host-pathogen interactions, human genetics, gene regulation, cytoskeletal dynamics, lung regrowth, quantitative imaging, CFTR, signal transduction, cancer biology, oxidant biochemistry, and exercise physiology. These projects are focused on lung disorders such as pulmonary hypertension, interstitial lung diseases, sarcoidosis, lung cancer, and cystic fibrosis. Research is supported through competitive grants through the NIH, the Cancer Research Institute for Texas, the American Heart Association, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and other sources. Divisional research is also coupled to an active research training program funded through a T32 grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Some of the primary faculty involved in divisional research are listed below.

Dr. Muhanned Abu-Hijleh

Muhanned Abu-Hijleh, M.D.

Research Interests: 
Novel methods in interventional pulmonology; device and new IP technology trials; endobronchial valve trials; pulmonary nodules; management of advanced COPD/ emphysema

Dr. Tony Babb

Tony Babb, Ph.D.

Research Interests:
Respiratory effects of obesity in children and adults; mechanisms of exertional dyspnea; exercise ventilatory response in obese, aged, and normal adults

Research Lab website

Dr. Sonja Bartolome

Sonja Bartolome, M.D.

Research Interests:
Outcomes in portopulmonary hypertension; recognition and treatment of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension

Dr. John Battaile

John Battaile, M.D.

Research Interests: 
Clinical trials in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT); clinical phenotypes of HHT

Dr. Catherine Chen

Catherine Chen, M.D.

Research Interests:
Biomedical informatics; clinical decision making; disease registries

Dr. Kelly Chin

Kelly Chin, M.D.

Research Interests: 
Clinical, hemodynamic, and imaging predictors of outcomes in pulmonary hypertension (PH); clinical trials in PH; role of serotonin transporter in PH

Dr. Sylvain DeLisle

Sylvain DeLisle, M.D.

Research Interests: 
Analytical methods to study health care systems; automated surveillance for infectious outbreaks; clinical decisions support systems

Dr. John Fitzgerald

John Fitzgerald, M.D.

Research Interests: 
Clinical trials in interstitial lung diseases

Dr. Guosheng Fu

Guosheng Fu, Ph.D.

Research Interests: 
Vascular invasion during tumor angiogenesis

Dr. Craig Glazer

Craig Glazer, M.D.

Research Interests: 
Clinical trials in interstitial lung diseases

Dr. Kara Goss

Kara Goss, M.D.

Research Interests: 
Acute and Chronic Right Heart Failure, Late Cardiopulmonary Sequelae of Extreme Premature Birth, Pulmonary Vascular Disease/Pulmonary Hypertension

Research Lab

Connie Hsia, M.D.

Research Interests: 
Postnatal compensatory lung regrowth and remodeling; hypoxia signaling and adaptation; pathways of lung protection against injury; quantitative imaging of the lung; pulmonary sarcoidosis

Dr. Raksha Jain

Raksha Jain, M.D.

Research Interests: 
Inflammatory and endocrine dysfunction in cystic fibrosis; sex disparities in immune activation and CF outcomes; Pseudomonas pathogenesis

Research Lab

Dr. Vaidehi Kaza

Vaidehi Kaza, M.D.

Research Interests: 
Clinical features of lung transplant populations; antibody-mediated lung allograft rejection

Dr. Chad Newton

Chad Newton, M.D.

Research Interests: 
Biomarker discovery and clinical outcomes in interstitial lung diseases

Dr. Lance Terada

Lance Terada, M.D.

Research Interests: 
Nox enzymes and ROS signal transduction; epigenetic control of cellular anchorage; lung cancer

Research Lab

Dr. Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres, M.D.

Research Interests: 
Clinical trials in pulmonary hypertension; clinical features and outcomes in pulmonary hypertension and lung transplant

Dr. Ru Feng Wu

Ru Feng Wu, Ph.D.

Research Interests: 
Ras and Rho signaling through the Shc adapter