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Dr. Young to present an update on HPS involvement in the Rare Lung Disease Consortium

Mar 3, 2017

Dr. Lisa Young from Vanderbilt University will give a presentation updating the Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome community about HPS involvement in the Rare Lung Disease Consortium at the 24th Annual HPS Network Conference, to be held March 10 – 12, at the Long Island Marriott in Uniondale, N.Y,

Lisa Young, M.D., is a physician-scientist focusing on research in genetic and interstitial lung diseases (ILD). Dr. Young’s research lab utilizes both laboratory-based and patient-oriented research approaches to study interstitial lung diseases and other rare lung diseases in both adults and children.

Her lab’s primary interest is in the role of the alveolar epithelium and alveolar macrophages in the regulation of pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis. The lab utilizes genetic mouse models to understand the cell biology and mechanisms of ILD pathogenesis. It also maintains a longitudinal research cohort of children with ILD and other rare lung diseases.

One of her lab’s projects is the study of the mechanisms of Pulmonary Fibrosis in Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome (HPS) Her lab’s studies utilize mouse models to understand what causes pulmonary fibrosis in HPS and how new therapies might be developed. The hypothesis is that HPS trafficking defects in alveolar epithelial cells result in increased reactive oxygen species production and enhanced secretion of mediators, which recruit and activate alveolar macrophages in the local microenvironment. The lab also studies how these mechanisms apply to other more common forms of ILD.