Zenna Solomon, MD, a pulmonary fellow in the Department of Pediatrics, received funding for her study "Disbalance of Sphingolipids in Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia" as part of the Weill Cornell Medicine Multidisciplinary Approach Training in Respiratory Research T32 Trainee Grant.
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), the lung disease associated with premature birth, often leads to long term consequences such as impaired lung growth, asthma, and early development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The mechanisms for the development of lung disease need to be better understood. Given the emerging role of sphingolipids in lung growth, asthma and COPD, there is a gap in knowledge on these lipids in neonates. Dr. Solomon aims to understand if and how sphingolipids in premature infants are related to the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia and its pulmonary consequences. She will study sphingolipid composition in airways of premature infants and its functional consequences on the development of obstructive airway disease.
The overall goal of Dr. Solomon’s studies is to identify markers for the development of lung disease in premature infants that may help in the development of novel therapies.