WELCOME TO THE KOLB LAB

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic lung disease with an unknown etiology. Our lab is interested in understanding the pathogenesis of IPF by studying the mechanisms of lung damage, repair and fibrosis. Our research focuses on the IPF lung microenvironment and the role cytokines, extracellular matrix, and growth factors (e.g. TGF-? and FGF) have in disease progression. Identifying biomarkers of IPF is another area of interest due to the lack of specific clinical symptoms of IPF for early diagnosis. To study these topics, we use a variety of animal models including rodent models of lung fibrosis. Our lab also conducts clinical research at the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health to study the efficacy of novel drugs and treatments for IPF. IPF has the worst prognosis among the idiopathic interstitial pneumonias and the overall prognosis is worse than that of most common cancers. With more knowledge, methods for early detection of IPF and novel drug treatments can be developed.