Dai lab and Fallon lab at University of Arizona work together to tackle a rarely studied disease called hepatopulmonary syndrome. This work was recently funded by NIH for a four-year $3M multiple PI R01.
Both labs are excited to carry out the work to understand the pathogenesis of hepatopumonary syndrome.
Hepatopulmonary syndrome is an uncommon condition that affects the lungs of people with advanced liver disease. Hepatopulmonary syndrome is caused by blood vessels in the lungs expanding (dilating) and increasing in number, making it hard for red blood cells to properly absorb oxygen. This leaves the lungs unable to deliver adequate amounts of oxygen to the body, which leads to low oxygen levels (hypoxemia). (from Mayo Clinic website)
(N Engl J Med. 2008 May 29;358(22):2378-87. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra0707185.)
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