Department of Pathobiology
Pathobiology is defined as an interdisciplinary field devoted to basic research into the mechanisms of disease, and serves as a bridge between basic biomedical research and clinical medicine in that it leads to new scientific knowledge in an environment where it can be translated into direct benefits for patients. Thus, the Department of Pathobiology is dedicated to the study of disease at fundamental levels, as well as to the application of that knowledge. The theme of research in Pathobiology is in an area that is a common denominator of human disease: inflammation and repair. Disease inflammation is characterized by prolonged and active inflammation, with tissue destruction, and failed attempts at healing. There are several settings for chronic inflammation, including persistent infections, prolonged exposure to toxic agents, and autoimmune diseases. The host response of chronic, as opposed to limited acute, inflammation after infection or exposure to an agent depends on the interaction between agent, host and environment. Repair after inflammation may occur by two different processes, including healthy regeneration of tissue and removal of abnormal matrix, or through replacement of tissue with connective tissue stroma. Repair through formation of connective tissue is associated with angiogenesis, deposition of extracellular matrix, and remodeling of tissues, and causes pathology and clinical disease.
Pathobiology research programs encompass studies aimed at understanding diseases caused by chronic inflammation and remodeling, including the investigation of allergy and asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, granulomatous inflammation, pulmonary vascular disease, innate host defense and sepsis and the host -pathogen-environment interaction.
Research & Faculty
Building from roots in fundamental life sciences and clinical medicine, scientists in the Department of Pathobiology are closely integrated across departments and divisions, and across the spectrum of clinical care to basic research. The research of the department is laboratory-based but also involve interfaces with field and clinical studies, and other disciplines including Epidemiology. The research activities focus on the causal factors of disease and at the development of new knowledge to elucidate disease processes, means for disease detection and identification, factors responsible for disease dynamics in a population, and novel measures of disease prevention. An integrative approach is optimal for translation of research findings into patient care, hence the Department fosters multi-disciplinary research teams, which creates an environment in which new scientific knowledge can be translated into direct benefits for patients. Thus, strategic partnerships exist between scientists, physician-scientists, clinicians and the private sector. The Department's research programs are led by scientists expert across the spectrum of medicine to fundamental sciences - including molecular biology, cell biology, immunology, biological chemistry, and physiology. Frequently, research utilizes the bedside to bench, and from bench to bedside approach, to directly study human disease and test new prognostics and therapies.
Mission and Vision
The mission of the Department of Pathobiology is to serve the national and the global community by dedication to the solution of problems in human health through discovery, application and education. Our goals are to enhance prevention, treatment and cures through research, and to develop innovative clinical programs for treating patients. The common research theme and the multi-disciplinary creative investigators in Pathobiology assure a continued high degree of successful collaborations, discoveries and innovation that will allow us to realize these goals.
Pathobiology Department Newsletters
pathobiology newsletter summer 2006