Assistant Investigator Pulmonary, Mass General Research Institute

Assistant Professor of Medicine Harvard Medical School

PhD Universidad Autonoma De Madrid 2012

apoptosis; fibrosis; idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; mechanobiology; myofibroblasts; pancreatic cancer; scleroderma; tissue repair; tumor microenvironment Tissue Repair, Regeneration and Fibrosis

The ability of organs to regenerate following injury declines with age. In older aged individuals, chronic tissue injury leads to abnormal wound healing responses characterized by the development of scar tissue or fibrosis and subsequent organ failure. The identification of novel therapeutic strategies aiming at reducing tissue fibrosis and promoting the regeneration of damaged tissues is a major unmet clinical need in regenerative medicine.

The goal of the Lagares Laboratory is to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate the delicate balance between organ regeneration and fibrosis following tissue injury, with an emphasis on the biochemical and biomechanical drivers of scar-forming myofibroblast activation. Ultimately, we seek to develop novel anti-fibrotic therapies for the treatment of human diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, systemic sclerosis, liver cirrhosis, progressive kidney disease and desmoplastic tumors.