Victor J. Thannickal, MD

Dr. Thannickal is a Professor of Medicine and the Harry B. Greenberg Chair in the Department of Medicine at Tulane University School of Medicine. He received his BA in Chemistry from Southern California College, and his MD from Oral Roberts University School of Medicine. Following an Internal Medicine residency at the University of Oklahoma, he completed his fellowship training in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. He has held faculty positions at Tufts, University of Michigan, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham before arriving at Tulane in 2021.

Dr. Thannickal's research is focused on cellular and molecular mechanisms of lung repair and regeneration. Active studies in his research lab involve elucidating mechanisms of cellular senescence, oxidative stress, and aging in the context of chronic lung diseases, in concert with the development of therapeutics and biomarkers for complex lung diseases. The clinical impact of his work is evidenced by current and emerging anti-fibrotic therapies in pre-clinical/clinical development, including inhibitors of FAK/Akt, MRTF-A/ROCK, BRD4, and NOX4. He is widely published with over 220 peer-reviewed publications (h-factor 100, Google Scholar; 90, Scopus). His research program is funded by the National Institutes of Health, including a translational Program Project grant from the NHLBI, and a Merit Award from the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Thannickal has trained and mentored numerous physicians and biomedical scientists who have successfully transitioned to independent research careers at several academic medical centers across the United States.

Dr. Thannickal is an elected member of the American Association of Physicians, the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, and the American Clinical and Climatological Association. He is the recipient of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Recognition Award for Scientific Accomplishments. He currently serves on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Clinical Investigation (Counseling Editor), as well as those of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine and the American Journal of Pathology; he is Deputy Editor of the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology.