I completed my MD degree at the University of Florida. I spent 19 years at National Jewish and the University of Colorado before moving to the University of Pittsburgh. I am the recipient of many awards, including the Elizabeth Rich Award, for my role in promoting women in science; the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Award for Scientific Achievement; the ATS Foundation Breathing for Life Award; and the European Respiratory Society President’s Award. I am a member of the American Association of Physicians, and have published over 300 papers and reviews.
My research interests include asthma and particularly severe asthma. I was one of the leaders in the concept that asthma is a heterogeneous disease, consisting of numerous different phenotypes, influenced by both environmental and genetic factors. I have applied this understanding to integrating studies of oxidative stress, as seen in many asthmatic airways, with cell survival and cell death processes, in particular, ferroptosis, using primarily human airway epithelial cells. My studies incorporate environmental and infectious exposures and their impact on mitochodria and inflammation, as well as worsening disease severity. I am the acting director of the University of Pittsburgh Asthma and Environmental Lung Health Institute, which has expanded its mission into the impact of regional environmental threats into the lives of patients with lung disease. As has always been the case, I rely primarily on the study of human beings with disease, including collection of many samples from asthmatic patient lungs for advanced ‘omic based approaches.
