Lauren Cohn, M.D.

Associate Professor

Educational Background

Medical School: University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, 1987
Residency: Internal Medicine, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, 1990-1991
Fellowship: Pulmonary Division, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 1991-1993; Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

Clinical Interests

Asthma, Immunologic Lung Disease

Research Interests

Dr. Cohn studies the mechanisms of airway inflammation. The two primary areas of her focus are: (1) the effects of inflammation on mucus metaplasia and (2) mechanisms regulating T cell persistence in asthma. One goal is to determine if inhaled antigen can be used to down-regulate T cell responses in the lung. These studies show that tolerance can be induced in mice during active allergic airways disease. This supports using low-dose, inhaled allergens as immunomodulatory treatments in asthma. As director of the Animal Physiology Core for the Sections Asthma Program Project Grant, she has also set up new methods to measure lung function in mice. These studies have been supported by NIH (RO1, PPG) and American Thoracic Society funding.

Representative Publications

Cohn L, Homer RJ, Marinov A, Rankin J, Bottomly K. Induction of airway mucus production by Th2 cells: A critical role for IL-4 in inflammation but not mucus production. J. Exp. Med. 186: 1737-1747, 1997.

Cohn L, Tepper JS, Bottomly K. IL-4 independent induction of airway hyperresponsiveness by Th2, but not Th1, cells. J. Immunol. 161:3813-3816, 1998.

Cohn L, Homer R, MacLeod H, Mohrs M, Brombacher F, Bottomly K. Th2 induced airway mucus production is dependent on ILR a, but not on eosinophils. J. Immunol. 162:6178-83, 1999.

Ray A and Cohn L. Th2 cells and GATA-3 in asthma: New insights into the regulation of airway inflammation J. Clin. Invest. 104:985-993, 1999.

Cohn L, Homer R, Niu N, Bottomly K. Th1 cells and IFN g regulate allergic airway inflammation and mucus production. J. Exp. Med. 190:1309-1317, 1999.

Cohn L, and Ray A. Th2-directed therapy for asthma. Pharmacology and Therapeutics. 88:187-196, 2000.

Cohn L, Herrick C, Homer R, Niu N, Bottomly K. IL-4 promotes airway eosinophilia by suppressing IFN g production: defining a novel role for IFN g in the regulation of allergic airway inflammation. J. Immunol. 166:2760-2767, 2001.

Cohn L. Perpective. Food for thought: Can immunological tolerance be induced to treat asthma? Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol., 24:509-512, 2001.

Whittaker L, Niu N, Temann A, Stoddard A, Flavell R, Ray A, Homer R, Cohn L. IL-13 mediates a fundamental pathway for airway epithelial mucus induced by CD4 T cells and IL-9. Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol. 27: 593-602, 2002.

Cohn L, Elias JA, Chupp GL. Asthma: Mechanisms of Disease Persistence and Progression. Ann. Rev. Immunol. 2004 (In Press).

Contact

Campus Address
Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine
Department of Internal Medicine
P.O. Box 208057
New Haven, CT 06520-8057

E-mail
lauren.cohn@yale.edu

Office Phone
203-737-1459

Fax
203-785-3826

Appointments
203-785-4198