Endothelial-epithelial communication plays an essential role in organ development, tissue homeostasis, and regeneration across contexts. Identifying the factors that mediate these interactions will help us understand the role of the vasculature beyond delivery of oxygen and nutrients. Understanding these signaling interactions is especially important in the lung, where the interface between the alveolar epithelium and the capillary endothelium is critical for gas exchange with the external environment.

The Niethamer lab will use single-cell transcriptomics, mouse genetics, and ex vivo mouse and human tissue culture systems to answer fundamental questions about how lung endothelial fates are specified, how endothelial progenitor function is regulated, and how endothelial cell signaling contributes to building functional structures in the lung, including the gas exchange interface between the endothelium and epithelium in the alveolus.