June 25, 2015
11 am to 12 pm EDT

Sponsored by
Biomodels

Webinar Description:

Pulmonary disease is among the leading causes of death in the United States and is responsible for more than $150 billion in healthcare costs; with increasing incidences of COPD, asthma and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis the need to develop innovative therapeutic options for the treatment of these inflammatory lung diseases is imperative.

Historically animal models of respiratory disease have relied heavily on endpoints of histology, mediator analysis and in cases such as asthma, measures of airway hyperresponsiveness. However a more relevant translational model must evaluate not only the inflammation and pathology but how the underlying disease affects the mechanical properties of the lung, therefore displaying the interdependence of lung mechanics and pulmonary inflammation. This webinar will showcase translational and predictive animal models of pulmonary disease that focus on both the underlying inflammatory process as well as how the degree and type of inflammation influence changes in lung compliance and airway hyperactivity. Additionally, the webinar will provide an overview of each clinical condition and how the utilization of both traditional and functional analyses in our animal models result in outcomes that will best predict disease severity and ultimately how therapeutics will behave in the clinic.

Learning Objectives:

  • 1. Understanding of inflammatory processes and airway hyperreactivity during acute allergic asthma using two well characterized mouse models.
    a. Ovalbumin
    b. House dust mite
  • 2. Development of a corticosteroid-insensitive model of severe asthma using chronic house dust mite exposure and characterizing inflammatory profiles, airway hyperresponsiveness and lung mechanics.
  • 3. Introduction of relevant models of acute lung injury and accompanied decrease in lung compliance.
    a. Lipopolysaccharide induced lung injury
    b. Hydrochloric acid induced lung injury
  • 4. Characterization of the bleomycin induced lung fibrosis model with a focus on correlation between lung mechanics, collagen deposition and lung fibrosis scores
    a. An in vitro supportive human assay to screen potential therapeutics for lung fibrosis using TGFβ stimulated Normal Human Lung Fibroblasts.

Who Should Attend:

  • Pulmonary (Scientist / Director / Program Management / CSO)
  • Drug Discovery (Scientist / Director / Program Management / CSO)
  • Translational Medicine (Scientist / Director / Program Management / CSO)
  • Inflammation (Scientist / Director / Program Management / CSO)

Speaker:

Paulette Wright Andreotta, Ph.D.

Scientist

Biomodels, LLC

Dr. Wright (Andreotta) completed her Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Yale University where she elucidated the role of a novel protein in asthma pathogenesis as a collaboration with the Yale Pulmonary Dept. Her extensive training encompassed not only immunology and mechanism aspects of asthma but also vascular remodeling and pharmacology. Since then Dr. Wright has gained more than 5 years of experience in industry utilizing in vivo and in vitro methodologies to expand her expertise of pulmonary disease to include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), acute lung injury, and bacterial and viral infections. As Biomodels’ Lead Pulmonary Scientist, Dr. Wright has applied her knowledge to further develop translatable models of pulmonary disease with an emphasis on fortifying clinically relevant endpoints such as lung mechanics as well as utilizing human in vitro models for therapeutic screening approaches. These models provide a platform to conduct meaningful efficacy studies for evaluation of new therapies.



Cost: No cost