Kalpaj R. Parekh, MBBS

Nicholas P. Rossi Professor in Cardiothoracic Surgery
Division Director
Professor of Surgery - Cardiothoracic Surgery
Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology


Training

MBBS, Seth G.S. Medical College, University of Mumbai
Research Fellow, Thoracic Surgery, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Resident, Categorical General Surgery, Lenox Hill Hospital
Research Fellow, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine
Fellow, Clinical Thoracic Surgery, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Fellow, Lung Transplantation, Washington University School of Medicine
Resident, Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics

Licensure and Certifications

American Board of Thoracic Surgery - American Board of Thoracic Surgery
Certified (Lung Transplant) - UNOS
Iowa Medical License - Iowa Board of Medicine
Board Certified, American Board of Surgery - American Board of Surgery

Research Focus:
 

Airway stem cell depletion as a mechanism for pulmonary allograft failure
The Parekh 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.