My research focuses on the regulation of gene expression during lung development and in disease. Recent research projects include measuring gene expression in the lungs of three strains of mice during development from embryonic day E9.5 to maturity at 8 weeks of age and developing a new technique to identify direct messenger RNA (mRNA) targets of microRNAs (miRNAs). I am using a new technique, referred to as RIP-SIR, to study miRNA regulated gene expression during the progression of pulmonary adenocarcinoma in two mouse models. In a related project, serum samples collected from these lung tumor-bearing mice were analyzed to identify expression profiles of circulating miRNAs that may indicate the presence of early stage pulmonary adenocarcinoma. A new project is expanding upon this work and using patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mice to answer basic questions about which miRNAs are secreted from tumors and enter the circulatory system. Finally, as a member of a collaborative group headed by Dr. Patricia Donahoe, I am investigating gene expression in the developing mouse diaphragm and determining how novel mutations identified by this group contribute to congenital diaphragmatic hernia, a condition that is often associated with a fatal respiratory phenotype.
