Dr. Rauf Ahmad Najar

Scientist, University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), Rochester, New York, USA

Dr. Najar’s research interests are focused on understanding the mechanism of lung vascular endothelial cell dysfunction in acute lung injury (ALI). ALI is a common cause of respiratory failure in critically ill patients and has a 25-30% high mortality rate. This is primarily due to a lack of curative interventions. His research team at the University of Rochester Medical center, USA, is dedicatedly focused on identifying endothelial cell inflammation and permeability pathways and assessing the relevance of these pathways in the setting of ALI in mice using creative integration of  in vitro and in vivo studies. The objective is to understand the processes underlying the development and resolution of ALI, with the goal of identifying therapeutic targets to resolve the injury in patients. Before joining URMC, USA. Dr. Najar studied cellular and molecular evaluation of aberrant hepatic DNA methylation by folate modulation and aging.  Dr. Najar’s research led to the discovery of some potential epigenetic markers which can be used to track hepatocellular carcinoma during folate deficiency with age.