Fernandez Lab

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Immune networks in chronic lung diseases

Our scientific focus is to understand the contribution of the immune system to organ fibrosis. Fibrosis is a common final outcome of most chronic inflammatory diseases, especially chronic lung diseases.

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Graphic illustration of lung fibrosis | Angelika Cramer

To date, as many as 45% of all deaths in the developed world are related to pathological tissue remodeling. Chronic lung diseases (CLD) are the 3rd leading cause of death worldwide. Among CLD, Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF) is a debilitating and incurable disease. Scaring of the lung leads to respiratory failure and 50% of patients die 3-5 years after diagnosis. Our understanding of the pathophysiology of PF is unfortunately limited to established and advanced stages when the extensive lung scaring is irreversible.

Functional assessment of interactions between mononuclear myeloid cells and lung structural cells
Identification of key ligand/receptor interactions in immune-structural lung cell crosstalk
Molecular characterization of in immune-structural lung cell interaction
Target evaluation in in-vitro models