Research interests

Can we test how substances and products affect the lungs, thus avoiding exposure to toxic compounds in the workplace?

My research interests are focused on how chemicals and products affect the lungs, particularly the fluid coating the insides of the lungs; lung surfactant. I use an instrument called the constrained drop surfactometer (CDS) to study these effects. A droplet of lung surfactant is made smaller and larger in the same frequency and surface area change as in the breathing lungs. This in turn results in a change in the surface tension of the drop, and I monitor this during exposure to the substance of interest, if the function of the lung surfactant is inhibited in the laboratory, this inhibition likely also take place in the lungs if you inhale the substance.

Test development, and regulation of substances

Traditionally toxicity testing of substances has been done using animals as models for what would happen to humans if they were subjected to exposures of the test material. However, as test methods and our understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying toxicity has developed, we can begin to move away from animal experiments, and toward mechanism aware toxicity testing. I have contributed to this development by constructing an adverse outcome pathway (AOP), describing the link between lung surfactant inhibition and the regulatory endpoint “acute inhalation toxicity”. Testing the effect of substances on the lung surfactant function is a fast method that can ensure that that toxic products can be eliminated before they are found in the work place and in homes.