Education:
- MD: Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
- Pediatric Residency: Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
- Neonatology Fellowship: Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Clinical/Research Interests:
- As a neonatologist and physician-scientist, my long-term research goal is to develop novel approaches to predict or prevent the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in premature infants. I have studied the role of the thioredoxin (Trx) system in lung injury for nearly 20 years and have expertise in redox signaling and in murine models of oxidant lung injury. Our primary focus has been the investigation of the mechanisms by which disruption of the selenoprotein thioredoxin reductase-1 (TXNRD1) elicits pulmonary protection. We identified that the TXNRD1 disruption attenuates hyperoxia-induced deficits in lung development in neonatal and adult mice via activation of Nrf2-regulated endogenous antioxidant responses. Nrf2-mediated responses are differentially modified by sufficiency of the trace mineral selenium (Se). Given the presence of Se deficiency in preterm infants and in critically ill patients, the impact of Se and selenoprotein synthesis on lung development and responses to TXNRD1 inhibitors are currently the primary focus of our group.
Select Honors and Accomplishments:
- 2013: Cassady Presidential Young Investigator Award, Perinatal Research Society
- 2013: Outstanding Early Career Investigator Award, American Thoracic Society Foundation
- 2016: Excellence in Teaching Award, University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Pediatrics
- 2018: Educational Excellence Award, University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Pediatrics