Welcome to The Dudek Lab
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Steven M. Dudek, MD Principal Investigator, Institute for Personalized Respiratory Medicine Associate Professor of Pulmonary Medicine |
Dr. Dudek's research seeks to mechanistically characterize the regulation of pulmonary vascular barrier function, with a particular emphasis on in vitro and animal models of acute lung injury syndromes. His recent work has focused on endothelial cell (EC) cytoskeletal rearrangements involved in regulating pulmonary vascular leak as well as identifying novel agents for reversing this pathophysiological process. For example, Dr. Dudek has rigorously explored in vitro the structure and function of cortactin, a key actin binding protein linked to dynamic cytoskeletal rearrangement, while focusing on its role in EC barrier function. This work has characterized the functional importance of cortactin interaction with EC myosin light chain kinase, a critical enzyme that generates cell tension through actomyosin interaction, describing novel mechanistic roles for these two proteins in reducing pulmonary vascular permeability. More recently, Dr. Dudek's research has helped characterize the potent barrier enhancing effects of various sphingolipid and related compounds in reversing pulmonary vascular leak models, a therapeutic goal for treating patients with acute lung injury syndromes.