Bio
I began my career as a neuroscientist studying how neural circuits produce behavior, but changed interests in mid-career to study cystic fibrosis (CF), with the goal of ameliorating the symptoms in people who have CF. I direct the Cystic Fibrosis Research Laboratory at Stanford. We discovered that a specific kind of sweating is rate-limited by CFTR--the anion channel product of the CF gene. We demonstrated that airway glands, which produce antibiotic-rich mucus that helps protect the airways, display a profound secretory defect in cystic fibrosis. Current research uses sweat secretion as a sensitive assay of CFTR function that can be used to assess the efficacy of drugs that improve CFTR function. We also study airway mucociliary clearance, and promote a preventative approach to lung infections in people with CF.
