Kalpaj R. Parekh, MBBS

Nicholas P. Rossi Professor in Cardiothoracic Surgery

Chair, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Professor of Surgery - Cardiothoracic Surgery
Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology


The Parekh Lab:
Research led by Dr. Kal Parekh focuses on airway stem cell depletion as a mechanism for pulmonary allograft failure. The lab has developed a clinically relevant animal model of lung transplantation in the ferret. Orthotopically transplanted ferret lung allografts develop the full spectrum of inflammatory and fibrotic pathology that is seen in human allografts. Our lab leverages this model to investigate how impaired epithelial regeneration leads to fibrosis and to discover the mechanisms that lead to the depletion of endogenous airway stem cells in transplanted lungs. We use quantitative approaches to study airway stem cells throughout the lung and investigate mechanisms that impact their multipotency and self-renewal in health and disease.