Biographical Summary:

My research centers around studies of regional lung mechanics and ventilation distribution, using a variety of techniques including CT imaging, lung impedance measurements, as well as more traditional physiological methods. In particular, these techniques are applied to investigations of regional lung function in acute lung injury and ARDS. Ongoing studies include the effects of PEEP on volume recruitment and ventilation distribution and the effects of exogenous surfactant on regional lung function in animal models of acute lung injury/ARDS. Clinical projects include CT studies of regional lung expansion during high-frequency ventilation in ARDS patients and a prospective, randomized trial of surfactant in single lung transplantation. I am a collaborator in a NIH sponsored Biomedical Engineering Research Partnership, based at the University of Iowa, to develop comprehensive functional lung imaging methodologies using CT. Other interests include developing a new CT based method for measuring functional sinus ventilation, novel ventilatory strategies (high-frequency, partial liquid breathing), and anesthesia breathing circuit design.