Manuel Chacon, Ph.D., long has been fascinated by human tissue and how the body seeks to repair and regenerate tissue after an injury.

As his career progressed, he moved into his current job as a postdoctoral researcher in the Translational Research Laboratory in the Critically Ill Patient, at the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias, a health research institute in Oviedo, a town in northwest Spain. His primary focus is understanding how lung cells in critically ill patients respond to mechanical stress and how that affects the body’s ability to repair lung damage.

Chacon’s interest in learning some new techniques brought him to the Nagy Lab at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. Chacon is visiting for the summer through a José Castillejo mobility fellowship from Spain with the support of the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program.

Regeneration Expertise

Laszlo Nagy, M.D., Ph.D., has spent decades studying how genes and cells react and adapt to inflammation, injury and tissue regeneration. He joined the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 2018 as a professor of medicine, biological chemistry and biomedical engineering in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism. He also serves as co-director of the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Institute for Fundamental Biomedical Research.

The Nagy Lab has published many peer-reviewed journal articles, including some related to inflammation of the lungs.

Through the years, Nagy has developed a network of contacts throughout the global research world. He previously based the Nagy Lab at the University Medical School of Debrecen in Hungary. That led to him becoming acquainted with Chacon.

“I got to know Dr. Nagy through Sergio Alonso, a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Nagy’s lab in Debrecen,” Chacon says. “Sergio and I have known each other for several years, as we both completed our Ph.D. work in the same laboratory in Asturias, Spain. Dr. Nagy later visited our laboratory in Asturias, and that was when I had the opportunity to meet him.”

A “Stiffer” Environment

Chacon currently is researching how lung scarring or cancer cause surrounding tissue to become harder or stiffer and what impact that has on the lung cells and the healing process.

“I am interested in studying how a stiffer environment may leave a lasting ‘memory’ in the cells and influence their future behavior,” Chacon says. “I am also very interested in learning from the scientific environment at Johns Hopkins All Children’s, exchanging ideas with the team and strengthening future collaborations between our groups. This stay is a great opportunity for me to expand my technical and conceptual background and to bring new knowledge back to my research program in Spain.”

Nagy has hosted previous guests and always is eager to collaborate with his global network of colleagues. He welcomes the interaction with Chacon for the summer.

“I don’t believe we’ve had anyone from the Fulbright program before,” Nagy says. “Receiving interesting people to experience our program validates our growth as a significant biomedical research center.”