Victor E. Laubach, PhD

Professor of Surgery (with tenure)
Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics
PhD 1993, Genetics, The George Washington University

I received a B.S. in Biology from Penn State University and a Ph.D. in Genetics from the George Washington University. I conducted my graduate research in the laboratory of Dr. Mark Brantly at NIH/NHLBI in Bethesda, MD, where I studied alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency. I then did 3 years of postdoctoral research at Glaxo Wellcome Pharmaceuticals in Research Triangle Park, NC to study nitric oxide biology. Here, I generated the iNOS knockout mouse and helped generate the eNOS knockout mouse in collaboration with the late Dr. Oliver Smithies, who received the Nobel Prize in 2007 for his genetic knockout methodology. In 1996 I came to the UVA Department of Surgery as an Assistant Professor where I began my studies on lung transplantation, which continue today.

My research focuses on basic and translational studies into the pathogenesis of lung ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) after transplantation. IRI is characterized by robust inflammation, alveolar damage, endothelial barrier dysfunction, and vascular permeability, which leads to primary graft dysfunction (PGD) after lung transplant. The overarching objectives of my lab are two-fold: 1) to define mechanisms of IRI, and 2) to discover therapeutic strategies to prevent IRI. The comprehensive approach of our research integrates rodent, large animal, and in vitro models to study lung IRI at multiple levels, and our research program is driven by its ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes after lung transplantation.