I have always been fascinated by the processes through which our immune system keeps our lungs healthy. Our innate immune system – which provides the first cellular responses to a diverse range of stimuli and lung injury – plays a key role in this process. Airway epithelial cells are not bystander cells but take an active part in orchestrating and maintaining this immune response.

My work focuses on the role of the innate immunity in inflammation and fibrosis. My group was the first to describe a dysregulation of the NF-kB regulator A20 in the epithelium of patients with Cystic Fibrosis (pwCF) and through the application of bioinformatics we were able to predict drugs, already licensed for use in humans, able to induce A20 as a potential therapeutic intervention. However, the blunted response of these repurposed drugs led to further investigations of A20 and its repressor DREAM. This work has been extended into the role of immune mediators in the activation of fibroblasts and we recently described the role of the A20-DREAM axis in fibroblasts from patients with systemic sclerosis with interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD).

My long-term research interest is to understand why some individuals respond to lung injury by developing progressive pulmonary fibrosis such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) or SSc-ILD while others heal without evidence of scarring.

The main aims to my research are 1) understanding IPF and SSc-ILD pathogenesis using patient derived and disease relevant model systems, 2) identifying better biomarkers to predict disease outcome, and 3) finding more effective and targeted anti-fibrotic drugs e.g., through drug repurposing, in collaboration with industrial and academic partners.

There are limitations in accessing lung fibroblasts from patients, but we will overcome this by using iPSC derived fibroblasts and other cells differentiated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

I am also dedicated to grow an understanding and enthusiasm for pulmonary research in under- and post-graduate students with the aim to develop the next generation of pulmonary researchers. I am committed to inter-disciplinary research with a major focus on translational work to improve diagnosis or therapies for patients with chronic airway diseases and to a strong engagement with patient partners in my research.