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Breathing does not simply “happen”. An interconnected network of three key components within the body work together in a dynamic and refined manner. The Tripartite Respiratory System is made up of, 1) the respiratory muscles which drive air in and out of the lungs 2), the controller which is composed of neuronal populations in the brainstem that control when and how we breathe and 3), sensors throughout the body that relay feedback to the brainstem respiratory control network regarding how well the system is doing. Nerves course throughout the body, including the lung, that provide motor commands to respiratory muscles and provide sensory feedback to the brainstem respiratory control network. Damage to one or more components of this system can cause impair breathing. ​

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The Mouradian Lab is investigating the specific biological factors within the lungs that underlie functional changes to the neural control of breathing in chronic lung diseases in adults (COPD) and extremely premature (born <28 weeks gestation) infants (Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD)). 

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We model BPD and COPD in wild-type and transgenic mouse lines coupled with whole body plethysmography and respirometry to measure breathing. We use optogenetics and chemogenetics to turn on/off specific cell types in vivo (DREADDs and DTR), AAV microinjection into the vagal ganglia for cell-specific labelling or lesioning, RNA Scope and immunofluorescence for tissue and cellular visualization, and patch-clamp with or without single cell RNA Sequencing for cellular phenotyping and molecular fingerprinting and mechanism testing, respectively.