Rachel Knipe, MD

Research Project:
Defining Endothelial Cell Expansion in Progressive versus Resolving Pulmonary Fibrosis

Grant Awarded:

Hastings Innovation Award for Interstitial Lung Disease

Research Topics:

basic biologic mechanisms
computational biology
pathology

Research Diseases:

interstitial lung disease
pulmonary fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a devastating disease characterized by progressive scarring in the lungs, which leads to shortness of breath and ultimately respiratory failure. Lung transplantation has been the only intervention shown to prolong life in patients with IPF. Current drugs only slow disease progression. There is an urgent need for novel treatments to halt or reverse fibrosis in the lungs. We are investigating a novel finding in the lungs of IPF patients —changes in the blood vessels in the lungs—that seem to predict disease progression. These changes appear in acute lung injury but seem to resolve when the lung is able to heal. This study will define these vascular changes using advanced spatial transcriptomics techniques and compare them in patients who develop injuries in the lung that do not lead to fibrosis. This will result in understanding the role that blood vessels in the lungs play in determining whether lungs heal or scar after injuries.

Hastings Innovation Award for Interstitial Lung Disease

Page last updated: September 28, 2026

Rachel Knipe, MD

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