Our research focuses on metabolic studies in the airway epithelium from normal cells to at-risk epithelial cells all the way to cancer cells. We are accumulating evidence for a critical role of metabolic reprogramming in the airway epithelial compartment at the core of the development of both COPD and lung cancer. Our current research is focused on the validation of neutral amino acid transporters to sustain the metabolic reprogramming in COPD and lung cancer. Our work is highly interdisciplinary and involves the fields of thoracic biology, cancer metabolism, and metabolic flux analysis. Ultimately the goals of these projects are to exploit intrinsic cellular mechanisms which cause the abnormal metabolic phenotypes in COPD and lung cancer.
We are also interested in the characterization of nutraceuticals provides health benefits and helps in the prevention or treatment of lung diseases, such as COPD and lung cancer. Currently, our laboratory is characterizing the intracellular mechanisms mediating the anti-inflammatory effects of tocotrienols in COPD model in vitro and in vivo.
