Author: dean_lung

‘Engineering Translational Models of Lung Homeostasis and Disease’

We are delighted to announce the release of “Engineering Translational Models of Lung Homeostasis and Disease”. Dr. Charlotte Dean and Dr. Sek-Shir Cheong contributed a chapter to this book entitled ‘Simple Models of Lung Development’. We wanted to share some insights about this exciting publication.

This book pushes the boundaries of interdisciplinary collaboration in the realm of lung research. By integrating established knowledge in lung biology and physiology with innovative engineering strategies, this publication aims to foster advancements and facilitate a deeper understanding of lung disease for researchers, clinicians, and medical practitioners.

A distinguishing feature of the book is its systematic exploration of specific lung regions, presenting an integrated perspective that seamlessly combines biological and clinical viewpoints with complementary engineering approaches. By bridging the gap between engineering and lung biology, the text provides an ideal platform to delve into emerging models that enhance our understanding of lung disease and repair processes.

Notably, “Engineering Translational Models of Lung Homeostasis and Disease” not only highlights the current translational challenges faced in the field but also unveils exciting engineering opportunities to overcome these obstacles. The book serves as a catalyst for interdisciplinary collaboration and offers valuable insights for researchers and clinicians across disciplines such as engineering, materials science, cell biology, pulmonary medicine, and clinical science. To learn more or to secure your copy of the book, please visit the official publication page:

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-26625-6

Sally and Charlotte attended the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society European Chapter (TERMIS-EU) Meeting 2023 at Manchester, UK on 28-31 March (https://eu2023.termis.org/).

Sally presented ‘The pro-repair effects of tissue-derived extracellular vesicles are modified with ageing’ at the Respiratory tissue and engineering and regeneration session and Charlotte presented a poster on the AIR model, ‘AIR – A novel ex-vivo model for studies of tissue repair’.

We are excited to welcome back Rebecca Chen to begin her PhD. Rebecca completed her masters project in the lab, finishing in September 2021. Working with Sally Kim, Rebecca looked at the effects of lung-derived extracellular vesicles on repair in young versus aged lungs. Rebecca’s PhD project will utilise the skills and knowledge she gained during her masters to investigate ‘extracellular vesicle-derived therapeutic approaches for lung repair’.

The project combines our long-standing interest in determining how Wnt signalling contributes to lung development and repair with bioengineering approaches to target protein delivery to the lungs.

We will determine whether administering Wnt5a (a potential pro-repair protein) to the lungs can strengthen the capacity that the lungs already have to repair themselves. This protein has been shown to stimulate lung stem cells after injury occurs and it is these stem cells that are needed to drive the lung repair process. However we don’t yet understand exactly how the Wnt5a protein carries out this key role and this is what we will determine. We will use time-lapse imaging to video the response of lung cells to Wnt5a treatment and track exactly how this protein stimulates repair. As part of this proposal we will also encase Wnt5a protein in tiny particles of gel and formulate a Wnt5a-gel treatment that can be administered to the lungs to stimulate repair. Encasing Wnt5a in a degradable gel will enable sustained and targeted administration of this treatment.

Dr Sally Kim has been integral to the development of this project which she will co-lead through her role as a researcher co-investigator.

After being postponed for 2 years, NHLI Research Away Day was back again!

The Away Day was held on a beautiful day on Friday 17 June 2022 at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre. It was a great opportunity for all staff and students to meet colleagues and to learn the breadth of research across NHLI!

Dr Sek-Shir Cheong gave a talk on ‘Temporal Control of DNA recombination and mRNA delivery in ex vivo Precision-Cut Lung Slices’, describing novel methods that our lab recently established to manipulate genes/targets in adult tissue-based models.

“I was made to feel a part of the team as I attended weekly laboratory meetings with the group, which enabled me to keep up with and gain an understanding of the current research” – Onyinyechi

“As part of my master’s degree in Cardiovascular and Respiratory Healthcare at Imperial College London, I spent four months with the Dean group. Here I undertook a research project that investigated lung development in mouse models of Down syndrome. I was supervised by Charlotte Dean and Sek Shir Cheong who taught me how to analyse sections of lung histology using the software Fiji, as well as how to use a range of scientific databases for genetic analysis.

The research we carried out was important in adding to the small number of studies that had previously investigated lung development in Down syndrome. In our study, we used a range of mouse models which all had three copies of different portions of chromosome 21. This allowed us to narrow down and identify the region of chromosome 21 that was critical in the development of the abnormalities found in the lung histology of these mouse models and the possible candidate genes causing them.

I was made to feel a part of the team as I attended weekly laboratory meetings with the group, which enabled me to keep up with and gain an understanding of the current research taking place at the lab. Additionally, observing presentations, as well as delivering some myself to the group, helped me to develop my presentation skills and allowed me to progress quicker as I received useful and regular feedback. I had a great time working at the lab, especially as I had not done any work like that before.”

– Onyinyechi

“My time in the Dean lab allowed me to develop a deeper understanding into how ideas are developed in the lab and how much collaboration is involved in research.” – Lauren

“For my master’s thesis I was lucky enough to undertake a 6-month research project with the dean lab. This experience was incredible, for the first time I was truly integrated into a labs’ research. For my project I was able to work with the on the Acid Injury Repair (AIR) model. This novel model uses hydrochloric acid to mimic lung injury and allows for the study of lung repair and regeneration. Working with Rosin Mongey, who established the AIR Model, I tested ways to image dynamic processes happening in the injured tissue.

Throughout my project I learnt new techniques and concepts. Thanks to the great supervision of Rosin and the FILM department, I became confident with microscopy, an area I knew little about. As microscopy is a central technique in biological research, these newly developed skills will help me in future research.

Alongside my lab work, I was invited to attend weekly lab and section meetings. These meetings helped to highlight the collaborative nature of research. In lab meetings I was kept up to date with the labs work and was able to present and receive feedback on my own, whilst in section meetings, I learnt about the research being performed by other groups.

My time in the Dean lab allowed me to develop a deeper understanding into how ideas are developed in the lab and how much collaboration is involved in research. I hope that the skills I have learnt during this project will help me in a future research career.”

– Lauren

Studying the mechanisms of lung repair and regeneration in the human lungs is challenging given their critical role. We have developed a new model, using slices of lung tissue, that can be used to study lung repair and regeneration. The Acid Injury and Repair (AIR) model works by using hydrochloric acid to injure a small part of the tissue slice whilst the surrounding area remains uninjured. This mimics the pattern of injury often observed in lung diseases. The AIR model enables tracking of different cell types, including stem cells as well as providing a platform to test potential new treatments to repair the lungs.

Researchers Sally Kim and Roisin Mongey worked on developing and validating this new tool which was recently published in Biomaterials. You can read about their work on the Imperial Faculty of medicine blog http://wwwf.imperial.ac.uk/blog/imperial-medicine/2021/01/13/a-breath-of-fresh-air-in-the-study-of-lung-repair-and-regeneration/