The Research Labs:

Trauma Burn Laboratory and Gastroenterology Laboratory

Trauma Burn Laboratory

Philosophy:


The Trauma Burn Center is a national leader in research advancement. Besides investigating challenging clinical topics, research emphasis is strongly pursued in basic science as well. Here, the field is broadly marked, the overall idea is very mechanistic. Only by understanding “how things” work, we are enable to develop new forms of treatment and get deeper insights in innate immunity and host defense against invading organisms. Understanding cause and effect results in beneficial treatment for the patients. Burn-care remains one of the most challenging topics in posttraumatic patient therapy, fighting local and subsequent systemic infections after loss of the skin barrier being the major problem. By understanding how local immunity as well as bacterial clearance can be restored, we are able to use these findings for the benefit of the traumatized patient. Seeing the victim as a whole, not only a surgical approach to these tasks is attempted. Intense multidisciplinary exchange of knowledge with the Gastrointestinal and Pathological Departments of the University of Michigan broaden the insight into the interaction of innate immunity and bacterial challenge. A constant dialogue at top level national and international meetings and conferences ensure fluency of information and current findings. Educating young, ambitious national and international researchers is sought in an idea of open resources. Still, the greatest challenge is to transform our laboratory findings into bedside therapy.



Lab:


The laboratory offers expertise in immunology, microbiology, gene therapy, biochemistry and molecular biology as well as animal models, in vivo and in vitro techniques. Most of the work is generously funded by the National Institute of Health and other well recognized institutions. Our most recent analytical techniques include real-time-PCR, gene chips and microarrays, as well as standardized, well established techniques such as ELISA, HPLC and flow-cytometry.



Projects:


Sepsis and innate immunity remains the focus of interest in our research facility. Current projects aim to answer the questions of lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP) and it’s effect in burns on the innate immunity in vivo as well as in vitro. Various LBP and CD14 dependent models of liver injuries are studied. Restoration possibilities of local immunity in knockout rodent colonies allow insight in various host-microorganism-interactions. Wound healing is another facet using two rodent in-vivo models. Changes in the innate immune system in the setting of biliary obstruction are studied. The myocardial depletion due to sepsis is investigated in an animal model. Recent projects focus on antimicrobial peptides, lung dysfunction and ARDS, pulmonary infection as well as gene therapy and new wound dressings.

Lars-Uwe Lahoda, MD, research fellow

Check out the recent publication by the lab team!

 


GASTROENTEROLOGY LABORATORY

Gastroenterology is the medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal system of the body, which includes the esophogus, stomach, intestines, liver, gall bladder, pancreas, colon and rectum.

RESEARCH

Dr. Grace Su's research interests are in the area of hepatic innate immune responses to LPS and bacteria and its implications for liver injury and multi-system organ failure. In particular, Dr. Su laboratory has focused on the molecular mechanisms of Kupffer cell activation by lipopolysaccharide (LPS): role of LBP, CD14 and Toll like receptors. In addition, Dr. Su's laboratory is also examining the mechanisms of by which Kupffer cells kill bacteria. This is of particular importance in deciphering the pathway by which bacterial infections in patients with chronic liver failure can lead to multi-system organ failure. Other ongoing studies include examining the role of LBP and CD14 in several models of liver injury including alcoholic hepatitis. 

Check out more information about the head of the G-I Lab, Dr. Grace Su.

Projects Include:

Molecular mechanisms Kupffer cell activation by LPS 

Molecular mechanisms of bacterial killing by Kupffer cells 

Role of LBP and CD14 in liver injury 

See other recent publications by the G-I lab!
 
 
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