Alejandre Alcázar, Miguel - assoc. RG

The concept of Perinatal Programming, or Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD), states that influences in the critical phase of development can determine the structure and function of an organ in the long term, in part through epigenetic modifications.

The Alcázar lab is interested in the investigation of the complex regulatory cellular network of inflammatory response, matrix remodeling and alveolar regeneration in perinatal lung development, injury and chronic lung disease. The research group focusses on deciphering the role of monocytes/macrophages, fibroblasts and alveolar progenitor cells in the perinatal origins of chronic lung disease. For this purpose, the Alcázar lab established several neonatal animal models, including hyperoxia- and ventilation induced lung injury, intrauterine growth restriction and intergenerational obesity, along with transgenic animal models and perinatal therapeutic approaches. These in vivo models are complemented by functional and structural analyses of the lung and ex vivo models (e.g., lung organoids and precision cut lung slices).

For translational research, the Alcázar laboratory is embedded within the Department of Pediatric Pulmonology and Neonatology at University Hospital Cologne. In addition, Prof. Alcázar serves as a principal investigator at the CECAD Research Center and the Excellence Cluster Cardiopulmonary Institute (CPI) at Justus Liebig University Giessen, as well as at the German Center for Lung Research (DZL). In this role, he contributes to the ALL Age Asthma cohort and has access to DZL biobanks and clinical samples.

The ultimate goal is to gain a deeper understanding of processes of lung development and the identification of critical signaling nodes in perinatal lung injury that could offer innovative strategies to preserve perinatal lung health and prevent chronic lung diseases.

Chronic diseases of the respiratory tract and lungs are among the main causes of death in adults and children worldwide and thus represent an increasing individual as well as socio-economic burden. Identification of early risk factors and molecular mechanisms underlying susceptibility to CLD will offer new preventive and therapeutic strategies.

Please find more information about Prof. Alejandre Alcázar´s research and work here and here. 

• Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC)
• Translational Experimental Pediatrics, Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, University of Cologne
• Cologne Excellence Cluster on Stress Responses in Aging-associated Diseases (CECAD) University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
• Institute for Lung Health (ILH), Universities of Giessen and Marburg Lung Center (UGMLC), Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
• Cardio-Pulmonary Institute (CPI), Universities of Giessen and Marburg Lung Center (UGMLC), Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
• German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Germany