Dr. Bastarache is a physician-scientist with a mechanistic and translational research program in acute and chronic lung diseases including acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and bronchiectasis. She also has an interest in non-pulmonary organ dysfunction during sepsis and studies delirium and acute kidney injury in experimental models. Her diverse research approach uses a combination of cell, mouse and human models of lung injury and repair to define the fundamental cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate organ injury including ARDS, delirium and acute kidney injury as well large clinical and genetic datasets to generate insights into individual variability in risk and outcomes from ARDS. She also has an interest in leveraging the EMR and novel phenotyping methods to identify and study subjects with underlying genetic causes of chronic lung diseases such as bronchiectasis with the goal of developing tools to help clinicians achieve a timely and accurate diagnosis.
Brandon Baer, PhD, is Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Division of Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is responsible for designing and executing research initiatives to assess novel therapeutics for respiratory disease. Over his career, he has initiated and led strategic approaches with both academic and biotech partners to enhance the efficacy as well as delivery of intrapulmonary therapeutics (mainly for the treatment of inflammation and infection). Passionate about improving the current treatment paradigms for respiratory disease, he thrives in collaborative environments that empower diverse teams of inter-disciplinary scientists to tackle scientific challenges.
An interview with
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Dr. Baer's research:
In a nutshell, what do you study?
Julie Bastarache: Sepsis and organ dysfunction
Brandon Baer: My research has always revolved around the development of new therapeutic approaches for treating respiratory conditions, with a focus on the lung epithelium. Initially, my postdoctoral research evaluated the efficacy of repurposing diabetes and obesity medications for the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome. More recently, my research has investigated the role of tissue factor in regulating alveolar epithelial cell interactions with the extracellular matrix.
Why is your research important? What is its larger impact, and/or how do you foresee it impacting public health?
JB: Sepsis is a leading killer worldwide and there are no sepsis-specific treatments other than treating the underlying infection and providing supportive care. New therapies for sepsis could have a major impact.
BB: The overall significance of our research is that acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a devastating pulmonary condition for which there is no current pharmacological option. Our work contributes to the strong animal data in the literature supporting the use of GLP-1 receptor agonists like liraglutide in patients afflicted with ARDS. As such, I foresee the repurposing of these drugs, that are already being used in humans, in a clinical trial for ARDS very soon.
What is one topic in your field that you are excited about right now?
JB: We currently lump all patients with sepsis together but within sepsis, there is tremendous biological heterogeneity. The field is working hard to understand the biological differences between sepsis patients. This will pave the way for new, targeted personalized sepsis treatment.
BB: 1) The role of GLP-1 receptor agonists in immunometabolism and 2) the mechanisms regulating lung epithelial cell interactions with the extracellular matrix.
When you were 5, what did you want to be when you grew up, and why?
JB: I really wanted to be a detective. My favorite book series was Nancy Drew about a girl detective. I loved solving mysteries and problems.
BB: At 5, I was a pretty big fan of Bill Nye the Science Guy and Dexter's Laboratory. So, I think I probably wanted to grow up to play with test tubes and build robots.
What was it about science that drew you to it?
JB: I love the creativity in science. Coming up with new questions and ideas for experiments is very stimulating.
BB: I’ve always been curious about how things worked. However, it wasn’t until my charity work with the Lung Association's Amazing Pace in high school that I knew I wanted to be involved in lung research. I have also lost a few family members to pulmonary conditions and have seen how devastating it can be when someone can't breathe.
What has been your biggest challenge as a scientist?
JB: Being patient. Science takes time.
BB: It is hard not to be defined by your work as a scientist. We dedicate a lot of our time to thinking about interesting questions and developing new experiments to test those questions. Consequently, it can be challenging to find a work-life balance. However, I think it is important, and I have put a lot of effort into pursuing my passion for science, while not allowing it to prevent me from building a life outside of the lab.
What is one piece of advice you'd give to a new graduate student?
JB: Enjoy the journey. The act of doing science is fun and it's important to enjoy doing science. If your only enjoyment comes from getting a grant funded or a paper published, you will not be happy.
BB: The best advice I got when I started graduate school was that science needs to come in ebbs and flows. There will be times where you will be incredibly busy. You will find yourself staying late in lab to get that last piece of data for a manuscript or having multiple white boards litter your kitchen as you try to draw out the hypothesis upon which you will build your next grant (that one might just be me). However, you can’t allow these moments to be your entire graduate student experience. You need to set aside time away from your research to not only read papers, but also to have a life. Go out with friends, join clubs, exercise, spend time with your pets, call your family, or just clean your apartment. Your life is not your science, and it is ok to set aside time to build that life.
