Moumita Ghosh, PhD

The goal of this project is to identify changes in the lung that occur during lung cancer development, to improve early detection. Epithelial stem/progenitor cells are critical for tissue repair, to maintain a healthy lung. Our pilot data showed that these cells are impaired in people with lung cancer, coinciding with an increased presence of immune cells. We will study epithelial progenitor cells, how their function is affected by their location relative to a tumor, and by the presence of immune cells. We will use lung tissues from patients with early-stage lung cancer. We expect to identify important factors that influence progenitor function. Our findings can be used for early detection or targeted to enhance progenitor function and constrain cancer formation.

Update:
Our pilot data showed that epithelial stem/progenitor cells are impaired in people with lung cancer, coinciding with an increased presence of immune cells. We will study epithelial progenitor cells, how their function is affected by their location relative to a tumor, and by the presence of immune cells. We will use resected lung tissues from patients with early-stage lung cancer. We expect to identify important factors that influence progenitor function. In year 1 of this project we collected 7 resected lung tissues for these analyses and made a significant stride towards our goal.