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BioE Seminar Series Presents: Wayne Mitzner
October 7, 2020 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Wayne Mitzner, Ph.D.
Professor and Associate Chair for Research in the Department of Environmental Health & Engineering, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore Maryland
“New Insights into Lung Anatomy”
ABSTRACT:
We have utilized an optical clearing method to allow visualization of a heretofore undescribed subpleural acinar structural organization in the mammalian lung. The clearing method enables visualization of the lung structure 40-50 alveoli deep below the visceral pleura in intact inflated lungs. In addition to confirming previous observations that the immediate subpleural alveoli are uniform in appearance, we document for the first time that the subpleural lung parenchyma is much more uniformly organized than the internal parenchyma. Specifically, below the surface layer of alveoli, there is a striking parallel arrangement of alveolar ducts that all run perpendicular to the visceral pleural surface. A three dimensional visualization of alveolar ducts allowed for a calculation of the average inner to outer duct diameter ratio of 0.53 in these subpleural ducts. This unique, self-organizing parallel duct structure likely impacts both elastic recoil and the transmission of tethering forces in healthy and diseased lungs.
BIOGRAPHY:
Wayne Mitzner is Professor and Associate Chair for Research in the Department of Environmental Health & Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Mitzner’s research interests are focused on the structural basis of physiologic and pathologic phenotypes in the lung. He also has a keen interest in developing methods to assess and quantify pulmonary function in preclinical models, and has chaired several minisymposia and postgraduate courses in this area. These functional studies are directed toward investigating the best ways to evaluate pathologic processes after acute and long-term exogenous insults to the lung. His work has had continuous funding from the NIH for the past 30 years and is supported by over 300 research publications.
Please email Elizabeth Chesley at e.chesley@northeastern.edu for the seminar link.