Welcome to the Tulane University Section of Pulmonary Diseases, Critical Care and Environmental Medicine. Everything we do is centered on our belief that the people of the Gulf South merit local access to the best possible health care. We teach foundations and innovations in medicine to the doctors of the future. And because we hold dear our obligation to educate bright, inquiring minds, we are dedicated to delivering evidence-based and cutting-edge medicine. Moreover, we are devoted to research that will improve health care in the coming years. We feel privileged to have made research contributions along the way, and look forward to shaping future advancements in health care. Read More
In step with Tulane University School of Medicine's mission, our section is dedicated to provide:
- State-of-the-art patient care
- Outstanding educational opportunities for students, residents, and fellows
- Innovative and relevant clinical and basic research
Please don't hesitate to contact us by mail, phone, or e-mail.
Joseph A. Lasky, MD
Professor of Medicine
Chief Section of Pulmonary Diseases, Critical Care & Environmental Medicine
John W. Deming, MD Endowed Chair in Internal Medicine
Best Doctors - Congratulations to
Dr. Joseph A. Lasky
Dr. Ramsy Abdelghani
Dr. Cesar A. Aguilar-Lopez
Dr. David Becnel
Dr. Christine M. Bojanowski
Dr. Tania Boniske
Dr. Ross C. Klingsberg
Dr. Nereida A. Parada
Dr. Shigeki Saito
Dr. Victor J. Thannickal
Dr. Jerry Zifodya
These physicians were recognized as the best doctors of Pulmonary Medicine in the state of Louisiana by Best Doctors, Inc., a company that has built a database of professionals that are highly regarded by their peers. For a complete list, visit the New Orleans Magazine website.
Recent News & Events
Dr. Yasin Khan has been conferred his Doctor of Philosophy degree in the field of Clinical Epidemiology from the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) at the University of Toronto. This is an especially notable accomplishment as the IHPME is ranked among the top ten healthcare research training programs globally, and the University of Toronto is ranked second in the world for health sciences research. Under the tutelage of some of the leaders in critical care research, Dr. Khan completed a thesis that examined the impacts of different ventilatory strategies for acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. His research provides important insights on how best to care for these patients, who account for more than a third of ICU admissions, and how to improve the delivery of evidence-based ventilation approaches in the ICU. During his graduate studies, Dr. Khan received the Critical Care Research Fellowship Award from University Health Network in Toronto and grant funding from the Provincial Government of Ontario, along with support from Tulane's PSPP.
Dr. Eva Otoupalova, who joined the Department of Medicine in the Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care this summer, has been selected as a Tulane PSPP (Physician Scientist Pipeline Program) Scholar, and has been awarded a grant from the Wetmore Foundation for her tuberculosis research.
Tuberculosis (TB) is the second most common cause of death from infectious disease worldwide after Covid-19. Despite advances in understanding TB pathogenesis, development of an effective TB vaccine remains a challenge. Bacille Calmette-Guerin vaccine (BCG), while highly effective in preventing childhood TB, has only 50% efficacy in adults, and ongoing vaccine candidate trials have yet to surpass that. While mucosal antibody levels correlate with immune protection from TB, the mechanisms of mucosal response to Mtb antigens are poorly understood. Dr. Otoupalova's proposal will evaluate B-cell humoral and cellular responses to atypical Mtb antigens. Her investigations will examine which B-cell phenotypes are the source of Mtb-specific antibodies. She will also seek to enhance mucosal immunity against Mtb by using non-mucosal vaccine adjuvants combined with liposomal delivery of Mtb lipid antigens, and to test the efficacy of such an approach in relevant animal models.
Yong Zhou, Ph.D. has recently joined the Section of Pulmonary Diseases, Critical Care, and Environmental Medicine in the John W. Deming Department of Medicine at Tulane
University as a tenured Professor of Medicine. Dr. Zhou also serves as the Associate Chief for Research in the Pulmonary Section and Director of the Program of Lung Repair and Regeneration.
Dr. Zhou brings extensive expertise in lung injury, repair, and regeneration, with a focus on understanding how biomechanical signals influence pulmonary fibrosis and other lung diseases. His innovative research has greatly enhanced the understanding of lung fibrosis mechanisms. His laboratory employs cutting-edge techniques, including in vivo transcriptomic signature-guided gene delivery, CRISPR-based epigenome editing, and advanced 3D organoid culture systems, to explore these critical mechanisms. Dr. Zhou’s pioneering studies have led to significant insights into targeting the mechanical microenvironment of the lung to develop potential treatments for fibrosis.
Before joining Tulane University, Dr. Zhou held a tenured professorship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He has been recognized with numerous awards, including the American Thoracic Society’s Outstanding Early Career Investigator Award. His ongoing research is supported by the National Institutes of Health, focusing on the role of the mechano-niche in lung repair following injury.
Dr. Yasin Khan, Assistant Professor in the Section of Pulmonary Diseases, Critical Care, and Environmental Medicine, was recognized by University Medical Center, LCMC Health, as Attending Physician of the Quarter for the 1st quarter of the year. In addition to being an outstanding critical care specialist, he is widely recognized in our region for his expertise in ECMO – extracorporeal membrane oxygenation that allows for life-sustaining support for patients with cardiorespiratory failure.
We are delighted to welcome Eva Otoupalova, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Environmental Medicine to our department.
Dr. Otoupalova received her MD from Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, and completed her internal medicine residency at William Beaumont Hospital in Michigan before joining the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) as a hospitalist. At UAB, she worked on a research project on mechanisms of pulmonary fibrosis and was inspired to pursue a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care at the University of Virginia (UVA) with the goal of expanding knowledge pertaining to the immunology of interstitial lung diseases (ILD).
Dr. Otoupalova’s research explores the role of B cells and natural antibodies (NAbs) in patients with fibrotic ILD. She has identified natural IgA against oxidized lipids to be elevated in severe ILD. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she applied her clinical experiences to a project investigating the role of B1 cells and NAbs in patients with COVID-19. She discovered that total and anti-ACE2 specific IgM levels in patients with COVID-19 correlate with protection from severe disease and identified a candidate B-cell cluster associated with high anti-ACE2 IgM levels and less severe disease. She will continue related research projects at Tulane, including systemic and mucosal B cell responses to classical and novel tuberculosis (Tb) antigens and developing strategies to prevent and treat M.Tb. Dr. Otoupalova will be an invaluable contributor to our clinical, research, and educational programs within the section and department.
We would like to welcome, Dr. Deepak Tripathi, Assistant Professor in the Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Environmental Medicine, to our department. Prior to joining Tulane, he was Assistant Professor of Immunology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler where he also completed in post-doctoral research training.
Dr. Tripathi's research centers on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of the lung’s immune response to respiratory pathogens. His current work focuses on pioneering new approaches to enhance memory T/Natural Killer (NK) cell responses and trained macrophage-mediated immunity against tuberculosis (TB). These efforts aim to advance the development of a robust TB vaccine and innovative immunotherapies tailored for TB patients with coexisting conditions like alcoholism and HIV. Additionally, his research explores the effects of alcohol-induced dysbiosis/dysmetabolome on immunity during M. tuberculosis infection.
Dr. Tripathi is an active member of The American Association of Immunologists (AAI) and has received several honors, including research fellowships from the Indian Council of Medical Research, the Young Investigator Award, and the AAI Trainee Award. He has also been awarded an AAI Early Career Faculty Grant.
Congratulations to Dr. Jerry Zifodya, Assistant Professor in the Section of Pulmonary, Diseases, Critical Care and Environmental Medicine, he has been awarded a Charles and Elizabeth Wetmore Fund Grant for his work entitled “Post-Tuberculosis Lung Disease: Prevalence and risk factors in a cohort of tuberculosis patients in Region 1, Wetmore tuberculosis clinic New Orleans (PTLD-NO study).” Many tuberculosis survivors remain chronically symptomatic after discharge from tuberculosis treatment clinics. This project will expand on the work that Dr. Zifodya is doing internationally by characterizing lung function impairment and quality of life in survivors of pulmonary tuberculosis in the greater New Orleans area.
Congratulations to Dr. Christine M. Bojanowski, Assistant Professor in the Section of Pulmonary Diseases, Critical Care, and Environmental Medicine on her award of $500,000. A research grant from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for her work on upper airway mucosal immunity and Th22 aberrancy in cystic fibrosis (CF). Dr. Bojanowski’s research aims to characterize the unique immune pathways that make people with CF more susceptible to airway microbial persistence and identify potential therapeutic targets independent of CFTR restoration that will reduce infection and ultimately lengthen life.
Congratulations to Dr. Derek Pociask, Assistant Professor in the Section of Pulmonary Diseases, Critical Care, and Environmental Medicine on his award of an NIH R21 grant! Dr. Pociask's research is on identifying risk factors for severe pulmonary pneumonia and mortality during viral pandemics. He has identified the thymus and its continuous generation of new T cells as pivotal factors. This project aims to explore the anti-inflammatory properties of newly produced T cells from the thymus in viral pneumonia. Additionally, it utilizes innovative models to examine thymic aging in disease susceptibility.
Thank you to the following faculty members and fellows for promoting Tulane Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine through their contributions at the annual American Thoracic Society International Conference (San Diego, May 2024)!
Drs. Christine Bojanowski, Joshua Denson, Himmat Grewal and Ross Klingsberg served as faculty along with fellow Dr. Diana Espinoza at the Resident Boot Camp sharing their expertise in Pulmonary and Critical Care physiology, procedures, and medical management!
Tulane faculty members Drs. Christine Bojanowski, Himmat Grewal and Jerry Zifodya additionally chaired and moderated several sessions.
Dr. Zifodya also presented an ATS core curriculum session entitled “ The Road Ahead: The Changing Epidemiology of Tuberculosis”
Lastly, a big congrats to the trainees and faculty members who contributed to presentations at this year’s conference: Ramsy Abdelghani, Ahmad-Al-Shyoukh, Christine Bojanowski, Paul Chang, Joshua Denson, Brian Deskin, Sarah Dhannoon, Diana Espinoza, Sam Ficenec, Himmat Grewal, Rachel Herr, Joseph Lasky, Nereida Parada, Shigeki Saito, Victor Thannickal, and Jerry Zifodya.
Christine M. Bojanowski, MD MSCR ATSF has been awarded a $500,000 research grant from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for her work on upper airway mucosal immunity and Th22 aberrancy in cystic fibrosis (CF). Dr. Bojanowski’s research aims to characterize the unique immune pathways that make people with CF more susceptible to airway microbial persistence and identify potential therapeutic targets independent of CFTR restoration that will reduce infection and ultimately lengthen life.
Christine M. Bojanowski, MD MSCR ATSF has been invited to serve as Chair of the Professional Development Committee of the American Thoracic Society as part of the society’s newly established Steering Committee on Advancement and Learning (SCALe). The mission statement of SCALe is “to provide pulmonary, sleep, and critical care healthcare professionals with innovative and evidence-based educational opportunities that enhance their knowledge, competence, and performance, ultimately improving patient outcomes and advancing the practice of medicine.”
Dr. Zifodya has been awarded a Firland Foundation Research Grant for his grant entitled “Host Clinical and Immunological Risk Factors Associated with Post-Tuberculosis Lung Disease (PTLD) among Kenyan and Ugandan Adults.” He aims to identify subtypes of post-tuberculosis lung disease and their associated risk factors. This grant will fund extended programs for ongoing studies in Kenya and Uganda and continue to build capacity at these study sites.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Yasin Khan for his recent selection for the competitive Tulane Physician Scientist Pipeline Award! This terrific achievement will undoubtedly help advance Yasin’s research efforts at Tulane!
Yasin’s research focuses on managing acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF) and understanding how this broader syndrome is related to ARDS. His projects will investigate how mechanical ventilation strategies for ARDS can be extrapolated to patients with AHRF and the clinical outcomes associated with this approach. He is also interested in clinical and cost-effectiveness decision modeling to help optimize the delivery of evidence-based mechanical ventilation to critically ill patients with AHRF.
Milestone Friday! We performed the first two Ion Robotic Bronchoscopies with real-time Philips 3D Cone Beam CT imaging in Louisiana. Nothing better for diagnostic yield and accuracy! Also, we hit 250 total navigational bronchoscopies with cone beam CT! Next goal: 250 Ion + CBCT.
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