Research Interests

• The overarching goal of my laboratory is to understand the cellular and molecular processes of lung stem/progenitor cells in various lung diseases and to identify new therapeutic approaches to help patients afflicted with these lung disorders. My lab collected airway epithelia cells through bronchoscopic brushing and implemented autologous transplantation to IPF patients who afterwards gained obvious improvements. We developed feeder-free, serum-free airway epithelial cell culture medium and obtained a patent. We identified the crucial role of airway basal stem cells in pathophysiology of tracheobronchopathia osteoplastica. We investigated the vital function of TLR9 in tumor progression and stemness maintenance.