Paradigms Governing the Development of Lung Endothelium and Branching Morphogenesis

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

2:30 PM-4:00 PM

BIOMED Seminar

Title:
Paradigms Governing the Development of Lung Endothelium and Branching Morphogenesis

Speaker:
Prashant Chandrasekaran, PhD
Staff Scientist
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)

Details:
There is growing interest in understanding the cellular diversity and mechanisms that govern the development of pulmonary circulation and alveolar epithelium to enable gas exchange in the mammalian lungs. These developmental processes are interdependent on one another and are required for the proper development and function of the lung alveolus, which is the primary site for respiration. Disruption of these processes due to prematurity or injury leads to defects in the airway epithelium and/or vasculature, leading to diseases such as Pulmonary Hypertension (PH), Alveolar Capillary Dysplasia (ACD), and Bronchiolar Pulmonary Dysplasia (BPD). Thus, there is a clear need to uncover the fetal programs that promote vascular growth and branching morphogenesis in the lung.

To address these questions, our lab utilizes a combination of transgenic reporter murine models, pediatric human lung tissues, single-cell RNA sequencing, and traditional lineage tracing techniques, which allows for the identification of novel progenitor cell populations and elucidate mechanisms of cell fate decisions. Fundamental knowledge generated from these developmental studies can help us identify therapeutic targets for drug development and design disease intervention strategies focused on lung regeneration.

Biosketch:
Dr. Prashant Chandrasekaran is currently a Staff Scientist in the Cardiology Division of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). He joined CHOP after obtaining his Doctoral Degree in Biomedical Engineering under the mentorship of Dr. Lin Han from Drexel University in 2020.

His research interests include understanding pulmonary endothelium development, arterial heterogeneity, and changes in cellular programming during the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension with emphasis on endothelial cells. Outside of lab, Prashant loves running behind his toddler, skydiving, hiking, jogging, and reading.

Contact Information

Lisa Williams
ltw22@drexel.edu