S.Vamsee Raju

S.Vamsee Raju
Associate Professor

Scientist (C), Cystic Fibrosis Research Center , School of Medicine
Associate Professor (P), Medicine - Pulmonary, Allergy, & Critical Care Medicine , Department of Medicine
Assistant Professor (S), Environmental Health Sciences , School of Public Health
Assistant Professor (S), Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology (CDIB) , Academic Joint Departments

Overview

S. Vamsee Raju, B.Pharm, PhD. is an Assistant Professor in the School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham. He received his Pharmacy degree from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences in 2005. In 2011, he graduated with a PhD in Genetics from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans.

His graduate research identified two entirely new mechanisms by which alcohol affects innate airway defenses to cause lung infections. Dr. Raju then went on to complete a 2-year postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Steven Rowe investigating acquired CFTR dysfunction in COPD pathogenesis, followed by an Instructor faculty position in the Department of Medicine in 2013. His work is published in several prestigious journals and has received recognition through awards from the European Respiratory Society, the American Thoracic Society and the American Federation of Medical Research.

Selected Publications

Academic Article

Year	Title	Altmetric
2022	Comparative transcriptomics in human COPD reveals dysregulated genes uniquely expressed in ferrets. Respiratory Research. 23. 2022
2022	Evaluation of a novel CFTR potentiator in COPD ferrets with acquired CFTR dysfunction. European Respiratory Journal. 60. 2022
2022	PDE4 Inhibitor Reverses Alcohol Impairment of CFTR Function and Protects Against Bacterial Pneumonia 2022
2021	Phosphodiesterase 4 mediates interleukin-8-induced heterologous desensitization of the β2-adrenergic receptor 2021
2021	Validation of gene editing efficiency with CRISPR-Cas9 system directly in rat zygotes using electroporation mediated delivery and embryo culture. MethodsX. 8. 2021
2020	Airway remodeling in ferrets with cigarette smoke-induced COPD using μCT imaging 2020
2020	Haemophilus influenzae persists in biofilm communities in a smoke-exposed ferret model of copd. ERJ Open Research. 6:1-12. 2020
2020	Evaluation of secondhand smoke effects on CFTR function in vivo. Respiratory Research. 21. 2020
2020	Excess mucus viscosity and airway dehydration impact COPD airway clearance. European Respiratory Journal. 55. 2020
2019	Vaporized e-cigarette liquids induce ion transport dysfunction in airway epithelia. American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology. 61:162-173. 2019
2019	Summary of the 2018 Alcohol and Immunology Research Interest Group (AIRIG) meeting. Alcohol. 77:11-18. 2019
2019	Lessons Learned From Web- and Social Media-Based Educational Initiatives by Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Societies. Chest. 155:671-679. 2019
2019	A Neutralizing Aptamer to TGFBR2 and miR-145 Antagonism Rescue Cigarette Smoke- and TGF-β-Mediated CFTR Expression. Molecular Therapy. 27:442-455. 2019
2019	Acquired cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator dysfunction and radiographic bronchiectasis in current and former smokers: A cross-sectional study. Annals of the American Thoracic Society. 16:150-153. 2019
2019	What doesn't kill you makes you weaker 2019
2018	Heme scavenging reduces pulmonary endoplasmic reticulum stress, fibrosis, and emphysema. JCI Insight. 3. 2018
2018	Maternal smoking induces acquired CFTR dysfunction in neonatal rats. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 198:672-674. 2018
2018	Not simply the lesser of two evils 2018
2017	Use of ferrets for electrophysiologic monitoring of ion transport. PLoS One. 12. 2017
2017	Roflumilast reverses CFTR-mediated ion transport dysfunction in cigarette smoke-exposed mice. Respiratory Research. 18. 2017
2017	The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator potentiator ivacaftor augments mucociliary clearance abrogating cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator inhibition by cigarette smoke. American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology. 56:99-108. 2017
2016	A ferret model of COPD-related chronic bronchitis. JCI Insight. 1. 2016
2016	Pilot evaluation of ivacaftor for chronic bronchitis 2016
2016	Therapeutic approaches to acquired cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator dysfunction in Chronic bronchitis. Annals of the American Thoracic Society. 13:S169-S176. 2016
2016	Acquired Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator Dysfunction in Chronic Bronchitis and Other Diseases of Mucus Clearance. Clinics in Chest Medicine. 37:147-158. 2016
2015	Recovery of acquired cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator dysfunction after smoking cessation. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 192:1521-1524. 2015
2014	Impact of heterozygote CFTR Mutations in COPD patients with Chronic Bronchitis. Respiratory Research. 15. 2014
2014	Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator activation by roflumilast contributes to therapeutic benefit in chronic bronchitis. American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology. 50:549-558. 2014
2013	Cigarette smoke induces systemic defects in cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator function. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 188:1321-1330. 2013
2013	Cigarette smoke and CFTR: Implications in the pathogenesis of COPD 2013
2013	Acquired cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator dysfunction in the lower airways in COPD. Chest. 144:498-506. 2013
2012	A pharmacologic approach to acquired cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator dysfunction in smoking related lung disease. PLoS One. 7. 2012
2012	Suppression of adenosine-activated chloride transport by ethanol in airway epithelia. PLoS One. 7. 2012
2012	CFTR potentiator treatment of cystic fibrosis. Drugs of the Future. 37:167-174. 2012
2010	Ethanol upregulates glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper expression and modulates cellular inflammatory responses in lung epithelial cells. Journal of Immunology. 184:5715-5722. 2010

Research Overview

Ongoing research in the laboratory is focused on pathophysiologic mechanisms of altered epithelial ion transport and its implications on mucociliary clearance and mucosal immunity in COPD and alcoholic pneumonia. Current research is supported by institutional funds and extramural grants from American Lung Association, Flight Attendants Medical Research Institute, National Institutes of Health and the pharmaceutical industry.