Fromen Research Group - About The Lungs

Welcome to the Fromen Research Group!  Our research is all about the lungs. We seek to advance understanding of the unique environment of the airways, from fluid dynamics to mucosal immunology. Armed with this foundation, we develop new therapeutics and analytical tools to treat a range of diseases specific to the lungs.

Respiratory diseases remain a challenging therapeutic problem, resulting in high morbidity and mortality. These conditions range from infectious diseases of influenza, tuberculosis and pneumonia, to known genetic and immunological disorders of cystic fibrosis (CF), allergy, and lung cancers, and finally to acquired conditions dominated by airway obstructions and lung remodeling in COPD, asthma, and pulmonary fibrosis. With each of these diseases, physiological/pathological changes occur on many length scales, with dysfunction on the molecular level causing changes in cellular interactions, dynamics of the microenvironment, and resulting whole organ function. We are interested in applying engineering fundamentals and innovative tools with the latest understanding in immunology to better predict how these changes manifest at each length scale. Importantly, we seek to understand how these changes impact the efficacy of inhaled therapeutics and to develop translational aerosol designs in new therapeutic areas.