Research Teams and Labs
The central focus of the Ameen Lab is aimed at understanding the mechanisms regulating traffic of ion transporters into and out of the intestinal brush border membrane and how dysregulation of traffic leads to intestinal diseases (either constipation or diarrhea). While our main focus is the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR), we investigate all ion transporters in the enterocyte plasma membrane.
We study the development of left right asymmetry, and the role of cilia in left-right and heart development utilizing mouse models, Xenopus tropicalis and human genetics. Vertebrate left-right asymmetry is essential for development of normal heart structure, and abnormal LR development manifests as severe congenital heart disease in humans.
The Bruscia Lab has a longstanding interest in cystic fibrosis (CF), a recessive genetic multiorgan disease that affects the lung, gut, pancreas, liver, and reproductive tissues. We investigate how a specific group of immune cells, the monocytes and the macrophages, contributes to the overwhelming inflammation, the inefficient host defense against bacteria and the altered lung tissue repair processes that characterize CF lung disease.
Cappello Lab
We conduct laboratory and field based investigations aimed at characterizing the epidemiology and molecular pathogenesis of parasitic diseases, specifically hookworm and malaria. We also study the pathogenesis of parasite coinfection and the role of host nutritional status in mediating susceptibility to disease.
In the Deniz Lab, we developed frogs as a rapid and effective model to study human congenital hydrocephalus genes. We use optical coherence tomography imaging to analyze CNS development, CNS ciliary function, and cerebrospinal fluid circulation dynamics in frogs. We can visualize CSF flow in real-time, vastly improving our candidate gene analysis derived from our patients. This model can lead to new insights into how hydrocephalus forms, providing an exciting avenue for understanding the disease process and designing new treatment options.
The Goodwin Lab is interested in understanding the effects of steroid microenvironments on whole-organism phenotypes and how these effects could be translated into novel tissue-specific therapeutic approaches. We also have a particular interest in understanding the connection between cardiovascular and renal diseases.
Gruen lab studies the genetics of communication disorders and learning disabilities, specifically dyslexia and developmental language disorder. The premise of the lab is to use a combination of statistical genetics, neuroimaging, and molecular tools to examine the biological underpinnings of dyslexia, developmental language disorder, and other learning disabilities.
IMPACTS (Improving Pediatric Acute Care Through Simulation) Lab
Our current project aims to reduce infant morbidity and mortality through higher standards of pediatric emergency care. We will achieve this aim through the application of novel simulation-based training and assessment in an iterative process delivered to EDs through cycles of simulation-based assessment, training, assessment and repeat training.
The Khokha lab is interested in the genes and developmental mechanisms that lead to birth defects (congenital malformations). Our approach is novel gene discovery in congenital malformation patients followed by developmental mechanism discovery in Xenopus.
Konnikova Lab
One of the main focuses of our group is to understand how mucosal homeostasis develops in infants and young children, particularly as it relates to development and maintenance of adaptive immunity. Using a combination of single cell techniques, we are studying intestinal immunity of fetal, premature and term infants and pediatric subjects. Furthermore, we are interested in determining how mucosal homeostasis becomes dysregulated in intestinal diseases such as necrotizing enterocolitis and inflammatory bowel disease.
The Makhani lab is part of the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Neurology at the Yale School of Medicine. Our lab’s work is largely translational and involves collaborations with radiologists and immune-biologists. Our work is focused on studying Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and related neuro-immunological disorders in children.
The PACE (Pediatric Advanced Cancer Experience) Laboratory
The PACE lab at Yale School of Medicine focuses on studying ways to optimize palliative and supportive care for children with advanced cancer. We use different research approaches, including qualitative and quantitative methods, to better understand the quality of care that children with cancer receive.
The Pierce lab seeks to understand blood vessel dysfunction in the setting of critical illness. Blood vessels, and the endothelial cells that line them, extend within micron of all the cells in the human body. To understand how these processes break down in the setting of critical illness we must understand the fundamental biology of endothelial cells and care for the sickest patients.
The Yimlamai lab focuses on liver development, regeneration and oncogenesis. We primarily study these processes through the lens of the Hippo signaling pathway, a biochemical pathway that controls organ growth. Using a combination of mouse models, biochemistry, next generation sequencing and patient samples, we aim to discover biologically relevant mechanisms that can define critical steps to change the course of disease.