Center for Acute Lung Injury and Infection (CALII)

Mission Statement

The mission of the Center for Acute Lung Injury and Infection (CALII) is to advance the understanding, prevention, and treatment of acute lung injury and infection and their impact on the development and progression of chronic lung disease through innovative, collaborative, and translational research.

CALII serves as an interdisciplinary hub that bridges fundamental discoveries in lung biology, immunology, microbiology, and host–pathogen interactions with clinical investigation and patient care. The Center brings together investigators across basic, translational, computational, and clinical sciences to understand the mechanisms that determine lung injury, host resilience, repair, and recovery following acute infection and other pulmonary insults, as well as how these events contribute to persistent inflammation, impaired repair, fibrosis, and chronic lung disease.

Through cutting-edge molecular, cellular, genomic, computational, and clinical approaches, CALII seeks to identify new mechanisms, biomarkers, and therapeutic strategies that improve outcomes across the continuum from acute lung injury and infection to recovery and chronic pulmonary disease. The Center also fosters collaborative science, develops innovative research platforms, and provides a rich environment for the training and mentorship of the next generation of investigators.

Our overarching goal is to transform discoveries in lung injury and infection into better prevention, treatment, recovery, and long-term respiratory health.

Directed by Charles Dela Cruz, MD, PhD, program faculty include Jonathan Alder, PhD; William Bain, MD; Kambez Benam, PhD; Bill Chen, PhD; Kong Chen, PhD; Tim Corcoran, PhD; John Evankovich, MD; Georgios Kitsios, MD, PhD; Melanie Königshoff, MD, PhD; Bryan McVerry, MD; Seyed Mehdi Nouraie, MD, PhD; Chukwuma Onyemekwu, MD; Prabir Ray, PhD; Alicia Rizzo, MD, PhD; Kevin Robinson, MD; Faraaz Shah, MD, MPH; Lokesh Sharma, PhD; Mark Snyder, MD; Tomeka Suber, MD, PhD; and Lianghui Zhang, MD, PhD.