Konstantin Birukov, MD, PhD

My laboratory is a part of the Lung Biology Program of which I am the director. This growing program currently includes collaborative studies between researchers from the Departments of Anesthesiology and Medicine but also develops programmatic links with Departments of Radiology/Oncology, Surgery and with the Center for Advanced Sensor Technology at UMBC.

The current incidence of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in the US is over 130,000 cases per year. Despite the protective ventilation strategies which have decreased mortality by approximately 9%, a remaining 30-40% mortality rate continues to represent a serious threat. There remain few effective treatments towards this devastating illness. ARDS represents a spectrum of common syndromes in response to a variety of infectious and non-infectious insults.

My group works to better understand the pathologic mechanisms of development and resolution of vascular endothelial dysfunction and lung injury, the two key features of many life-threatening conditions including ARDS, shock/trauma, sepsis and others.

Topics of Focus

1. New roles of oxidized phospholipids in modulation of septic inflammation, coagulopathy and traumatic injury and age-related exacerbation of lung injury
2. Mechanochemical regulation of vascular permeability and inflammation; the role of pathologic mechanical stretch and substrate stiffness in endothelial pathobiology.
3. Discovery of novel signaling pathways and compounds contributing to resolution and recovery of lung injury.
4. Cell interactions in lung injury, sepsis, and trauma.

Contact

Office: 410-706-2578
Email: kbirukov@som.umaryland.edu