Role of Proline Rich Tyrosine Kinase 2 in Lung Development and Response to Injury
Jennifer Murzycki, M.D., Ph.D. was no stranger to the laboratory when she began her residency. She had already done a Senior Thesis at Brandeis on very long baseline interferometry and defended her Ph.D. thesis on structural studies of HIV-1 protease at the University of Massachusetts in Worcester.
Dr. Murzycki’s project, entitled “Role of Proline Rich Tyrosine Kinase 2 in Lung Development and Response to Injury” was conducted under the mentorship of Patricia Chess, M.D. in the Division of Neonatology. Dr. Murzycki’s work has demonstrated changes in signal transduction in the developing lung at rest and under varying degrees of “stretch” (not unlike what happens when a baby is ventilated). These results underscore the importance of physical and iatrogenic factors for the molecular and biochemical events that underlie normal function across the developmental spectrum.