Bruce K. Rubin, M.Engr., M.D., MBA, FRCPC, Professor and Vice Chair of Pediatrics, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology
Dr. Rubin received his B.Sc., Master of Engineering, and M.D. degrees from Tulane University. After medical studies, he attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar to do postdoctoral work in biomedical engineering. Since 1997 Dr. Rubin has been at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC. He completed an MBA at Wake Forest University in 2004. Dr. Rubin is CEO of USTLO - a technology assessment and transfer company. Dr. Rubin is currently on the Editorial Board of ten pulmonary journals. He has published more than 150 papers and chapters, 4 books, and holds 5 patents. Dr. Rubin received the ACCP Young Investigator award in 1989, the Critical Care Research Award in 1990, and the Alfred Soffer Award in 2004. He is listed in Who's Who in the United States, and The Best Doctors in America. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in Canada, the College of Chest Physicians, and the American Pediatric Association. He is the President of the International Congress of Pediatric Pulmonology.

SYNOPSIS OF AREA OF INTEREST:: Dr. Rubin's research is regulation of mucus clearance in health and disease and aerosol delivery of medications. He directs the only comprehensive Mucus Clearance Disorders clinic in the United States for the assessment and treatment of adults and children with difficulty to manage mucus problems. Dr. Rubin' group has focused on studying the relationship between secretion properties and clearance. The goal of this research group is to develop new therapies for asthma, cystic fibrosis, and chronic bronchitis.

DETAILED AREA OF INTEREST: Airway physiology and pharmacology. Airway mucus is an adhesive, viscoelastic gel consisting of water, high molecular weight, slip-linked glycoproteins, serum and cellular proteins, and lipids. Mucus is cleared by airflow and ciliary interactions. Sputum, which is mucus mixed with inflammatory cells, cellular debris, and bacteria, is cleared by cough. Mucus retention is usually due to hypersecretion and impaired clearance. Infected secretions that pool in the airway induce inflammation that can damage the airway epithelium. Our research includes studying the mechanism of hypersecretion in cell culture and animal models and determining how the biopolymer structure of secretions affects transport and eventually health in human clinical studies. We are also involved in mucoactive drug development and testing.
The mucus barrier and airway defense. Although mucus hypersecretion has long been assumed to be detrimental to health, we have data which suggest that the mucus barrier is critical to preventing chronic airway infection and inflammation and that chronic airway infection on cystic fibrosis is due, at least in part, to decreased secretion of these protective mucins. In collaboration with Dr. Dan Wozniak and Dr. Ed Swords we are investigating the interaction between bacteria, mucus, and the airway epithelium.
Adherence and outcomes in asthma. We are determining factors that influence adherence to therapy in children and adults with asthma and developing new strategies to improve asthma care and new devices to improve the delivery of aerosol medications.

PUBLICATIONS:

Henke MO, Renner A, Huber RM, Seeds MC, Rubin BK. MUC5AC and MUC5B mucins are decreased in cystic fibrosis airway secretions. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2004; 31:86-91.

Daviskas, E Anderson SD, Gomes K, Briffa P, Cochrane B, Chan H-Kim, Young IH, Rubin BK. Inhaled mannitol for the treatment of mucociliary dysfunction in patients with bronchiectasis - Effect on lung function, health status and sputum. Respirology 2005;10:46-56.

Barker PM, Gillie DJ, Schechter MS, Rubin BK. Effect of macrolides on in vivo ion transport across cystic fibrosis nasal epithelium. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2005;171:868-71.

Shinkai M, Foster G, Rubin BK. Macrolide antibiotics modulate ERK phosphorylation and IL-8 and GM-CSF production by human bronchial epithelial cells. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Molec Physiol (in press).

Shah SA, Santago PS, Rubin BK. Quantification of biopolymer filament structure. Ultramicroscopy 2005;104:244-254.

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