Lung Injury, Repair, and Remodeling Study Section – LIRR

Topics

• Lung injury including but not limited to:
  • lung injury caused by reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, hypoxia, acute infection and sepsis, mechanical ventilation, alcohol, nicotine, and environmental and other toxic agents.
  • studies addressing lung epithelium injury, leukocyte contributions to lung injury, normal and abnormal lung permeability, and mechanisms of resolution, repair, and remodeling.
• Pulmonary fibrosis and interstitial lung diseases:
  • granulomatous diseases (such as sarcoidosis), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, interstitial pneumonias, and lymphangioleiomyomatosis.
  • involvement of mesenchymal stem cells, epithelium dysfunction, and alveolar macrophages.
• Lung fluid balance, including:
  • epithelial (ion channels, aquaporins, etc.).
  • interstitium and lymphatic function.
  • pulmonary edema.
• Pleural diseases, including:
  • infections, dysplasias, hyperplasias, and other non-malignant proliferative disorders and inflammatory processes.
• Lung development and maturation:
  • includes mechanisms of normal and abnormal lung development.
  • differentiation of alveolar epithelial cells.
  • interactions between mesenchymal cells, epithelial cells and immune cells.
  • neonatal and pediatric lung syndromes and diseases (e.g., bronchopulmonary dysplasia).
• Lung stem cell biology in the context of:
  • lung development and repair.
  • validation of bioengineering strategies for lung regeneration.
• Pulmonary surfactant biology including:
  • expression and post-translational processing and trafficking of surfactant proteins in lung epithelium.
  • surfactant lipids.
  • lung diseases associated with surfactant dysfunction and/or deficiency.
  • surfactant replacement therapy.
• Lung innate and adaptive immunity in the context of:
  • lung development.
  • lung injury, repair and remodeling.
• Applications which investigate the following lung diseases and syndromes, where the focus generally addresses disruptions to pulmonary function. 
  • Acute Lung Injury (ALI); Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS); Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD); Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) – with primary focus on emphysema; Pulmonary fibrosis.
  • Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), where proposals address mechanisms of lung tissue injury/destruction resulting from infiltration and growth of LAM cells and lead to dysregulation of lung function and respiratory failure.

Shared Interests and Overlaps

There are shared interests between LIRR and Lung Cellular, Molecular and Immunobiology (LCMI). Applications focused on innate and adaptive immunity in the context of lung injury and disorders that include ALI, ARDS, BPD, COPD, LAM and pulmonary fibrosis, may be reviewed in LIRR. Applications focused on diseases of upper airways such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, and cystic fibrosis may be reviewed in LCMI. COPD applications focused on emphysema (alveolar region) are reviewed in LIRR while those focused on chronic bronchitis (upper airways) may be reviewed in LCMI.

There are shared interests between LIRR and Respiratory Integrative Biology and Translational Research (RIBT). Applications involving study of cellular and molecular mechanisms of lung injury and repair may be reviewed in LIRR. Applications focused on respiratory physiology, genetics, biophysics, biomechanics, and imaging of the lung may be reviewed in RIBT.

There are shared interests between LIRR and Surgery, Anesthesiology, and Trauma Study Section (SAT). Applications associated with acute lung injury (ALI) caused by sepsis, those focused on the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of ALI and development of stem cell-based and pharmacological approaches for treatment may be reviewed in LIRR study section. Applications involving study of systemic injury and responses to sepsis may be appropriate for SAT.

There are shared interests between LIRR and relevant study sections of the Oncology  Basic Translational (OBT) IRG.   Applications addressing mechanisms of lung tissue injury/destruction resulting from infiltration and growth of LAM cells, leading to dysregulation of lung function and respiratory failure are reviewed in LIRR while those which focus on basic mechanisms of LAM tumor/neoplasm initiation and progression, including metastasis/homing of LAM cells from extrapulmonary origin to the lung may be reviewed in OBT.

There are shared interests between LIRR and relevant study sections of OTC and BDA/OTC-1 IRGs. Applications addressing mechanisms of lung tissue injury/destruction resulting from infiltration and growth of LAM cells and lead to dysregulation of lung function and respiratory failure are reviewed in LIRR while those which focus on therapeutic approaches to treating LAM, including the use cancer-based strategies (i.e., immunotherapy) may be reviewed in OTC or BDA/OTC-1.

There are shared interests between LIRR and bioengineering-related study sections, Bioengineering, Technology, and Surgical Sciences (BTSS) and Biomaterials and Biointerfaces Study Section (BMBI). Applications focused on lung tissue engineering that involve validation of bioengineering strategies for lung regeneration may be reviewed in LIRR study section. Applications involving early stages of development of these strategies and technologies may be more appropriate for BTSS or BMBI.

There are shared interests between LIRR and Cellular Mechanisms in Aging and Development (CMAD). Applications focused on cell senescence, proteostasis, and tissue repair & regeneration in the context of aging are typically reviewed CMAD. Applications which focus on molecular and cellular mechanisms of chronic lung diseases linked to aging, such as COPD and pulmonary fibrosis, may be reviewed in LIRR.

There are shared interests between LIRR and Development-1 (DEV 1). Developmental biology applications focused on embryonic and postnatal lung development are appropriate for review in LIRR. Applications addressing early embryonic development may be reviewed in DEV1.

There are shared interests between LIRR and Pregnancy and Neonatology (PN). Fetal biology and neonatology applications are typically reviewed in PN. However, applications which focus on fetal and postnatal lung development and lung diseases associated with a defect in lung development, such as BPD, may be reviewed in LIRR. ​

There are shared interests in lung injury with Environmental Determinants of Disease (EDD). Applications that emphasize lung toxicology (such as particulate air pollutants, tobacco, cannabis, and/or vaping) are reviewed in EDD. Applications that address adverse effects of environmental or other toxicants on the lung in the context of lung development, lung injury/repair, emphysema, and interstitial lung diseases such as sarcoidosis and asbestosis are reviewed in LIRR.