Research Summary
Dr. Neptune has a research focus on regenerative approaches to COPD-emphysema, mucus hypersecretion in COPD, genetic disorders of the matrix and health disparities in tobacco dependence. She has been funded by the NIH, Marfan Foundation, March of Dimes, Maryland Stem Cell Research Foundation. Her active research efforts include a detailed assessment of airway mucus properties that associate with COPD progression, the dissection of the role of TGF-b and angiotensin signaling in lung maintenance and repair, the identification of novel approaches to lung regeneration and the determination of the role of sleep apnea in Marfan aortic disease. Her lab uses a combination of mouse and human reagents, novel genetically targeted animal models and primary lung resident cell based approaches. Her long term goal is to provide therapeutic reagents that can reverse established emphysema in patients with acquired, congenital or genetic disorders. Dr. Neptune is a standing member of the LIRR Study Section in the NHLBI, a member of the Board of Scientific Advisors at the NIH Clinical Center and the Program Committee Chair of the Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology Assembly in the American Thoracic Society.
Selected Publications
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Hansel NN, Paré PD, Rafaels N, Sin DD, Sandford A, Daley D, Vergara C, Huang L, Elliott WM, Pascoe CD, Arsenault BA, Postma DS, Boezen HM, Bossé Y, van den Berge M, Hiemstra PS, Cho MH, Litonjua AA, Sparrow D, Ober C, Wise RA, Connett J, Neptune ER, Beaty TH, Ruczinski I, Mathias RA, Barnes KC; Lung Health Study. “Genome-wide association study identification of novel loci associated with airway responsiveness in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.” Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2015 Aug;53(2):226-34. doi: 10.1165/rcmb.2014-0198OC.
Lambert AA, Kirk GD, Astemborski J, Neptune ER, Mehta SH, Wise RA, Drummond MB. “A cross sectional analysis of the role of the antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin in lung function impairment within the ALIVE cohort.” PLoS One. 2014 Apr 17;9(4):e95099. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0095099.
Poonyagariyagorn HK, Metzger S, Dikeman D, Mercado AL, Malinina A, Calvi C, McGrath-Morrow S, Neptune ER. “Superoxide dismutase 3 dysregulation in a murine model of neonatal lung injury.” Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2014 Sep;51(3):380-90. doi: 10.1165/rcmb.2013-0043OC.
Calvi C, Podowski M, Lopez-Mercado A, Metzger S, Misono K, Malinina A, Dikeman D, Poonyagariyon H, Ynalvez L, Derakhshandeh R, Le A, Merchant M, Schwall R, Neptune ER. “Hepatocyte growth factor, a determinant of airspace homeostasis in the murine lung.” PLoS Genet. 2013;9(2):e1003228. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003228. Epub 2013 Feb 14.
Hansel NN, Ruczinski I, Rafaels N, Sin DD, Daley D, Malinina A, Huang L, Sandford A, Murray T, Kim Y, Vergara C, Heckbert SR, Psaty BM, Li G, Elliott WM, Aminuddin F, Dupuis J, O'Connor GT, Doheny K, Scott AF, Boezen HM, Postma DS, Smolonska J, Zanen P, Mohamed Hoesein FA, de Koning HJ, Crystal RG, Tanaka T, Ferrucci L, Silverman E, Wan E, Vestbo J, Lomas DA, Connett J, Wise RA, Neptune ER, Mathias RA, Paré PD, Beaty TH, Barnes KC. “Genome-wide study identifies two loci associated with lung function decline in mild to moderate COPD.” Hum Genet. 2013 Jan;132(1):79-90. doi: 10.1007/s00439-012-1219-6. Epub 2012 Sep 18.
Calvi CL, Podowski M, D'Alessio FR, Metzger SL, Misono K, Poonyagariyagorn H, Lopez-Mercado A, Ku T, Lauer T, Cheadle C, Talbot CC Jr, Jie C, McGrath-Morrow S, King LS, Walston J, Neptune ER. Critical transition in tissue homeostasis accompanies murine lung senescence. PLoS One. 2011;6(6):e20712. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0020712. Epub 2011 Jun 21. PMID: 21713037
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