Department of Medicine
Faculty Profiles by Division

Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine

Faculty Profiles
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photo Prabir Ray, PhD

Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine

Professor of Medicine and Immunology

UPMC Endowed Chair in Lung Immunology

Email: rayp@pitt.edu

Phone: 412-692-2118
Contact
Office: UPMC Montefiore Hospital, NW628
3459 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
 
Phone: 412-692-2118
Fax: 412-692-2260
E-mail: rayp@pitt.edu
Administrative Assistant:
Patty Geraci
Email: geracip@upmc.edu
Phone: 412-692-2118
Fax: 412-692-2260
Education and Training
Education
BSc, Chemistry, Calcutta University, 1977
MSc, Biochemistry, Calcutta University, 1979
PhD, Molecular Biology, Calcutta University, 1985
Training
Postdoctoral Associate, Molecular Biology, Cornell University, 1987
Postdoctoral Associate, Molecular Biology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1990
Research Interest
Dr. Ray is interested in immunoregulatory mechanisms of lung inflammation as they relate to disease inception and resolution. He pioneered the development of inducible cell-specific transgenic mice in the early years of his career at Yale University using which he demonstrated an important role of the growth factor KGF in protection from lung injury. More recently, his group identified a central role of the c-kit-PI3 kinase axis in promoting Th17 and Th2 differentiation and asthma using an experimental model. This work was chosen for the Year in Immunology 2010 publication of the New York Academy of Sciences.

His current research is focused on immune responses to pulmonary infections. His work has shown an important role of lung myeloid cells resembling MDSCs in resolution of lung inflammation during bacterial pneumonia. His group is also studying immune responses to infection by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). RSV infection is common in infants and can cause severe bronchiolitis requiring hospitalization. Currently, there is no effective vaccine against RSV. Epidemiological studies have associated severe RSV-mediated illness with asthma development in later life and recent work from his lab suggests impairment of Treg function by RSV as one underlying mechanism. This study received significant attention nationally and internationally. Ongoing research in his lab is directed at understanding interactions between cells of the innate immune system and airway epithelial cells during RSV infection using both human samples and animal models, which may lead to new approaches to defend against RSV.
Publications
For my complete bibliography, Click Here.
Selected Publications:
Raundhal, M., Morse, C., Khare, A., Oriss, T.B., Milosevic, J., Trudeau, J., Huff, R., Pilewski, J, Holguin, F., Kolls, J., Wenzel, S.E., Ray, P, Ray, A. (2015) High IFN-g and Low SLPI Mark Severe Asthma In Humans and Mice. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2015; 125: 3037-050.
Ray, P., Tang, W.L., Wang, P., Flavell, R.A., Elias, J.A. Regulated overexpression of interleukin 11 in the lung: use to dissociate development-dependent and -independent phenotypes 100:2501-2511. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 1997; 100: 2501-2511.
Yang, L, Cohn, L., Zhang, D. -H., Homer, R., Ray, A., Ray. P. Essential role of nuclear factor kB in the induction of eosinophilia in allergic airway inflammation. Journal of Experimental Medicine. 1998; 188: 1739-1750.
Lu, Y.B., Parkyn, L., Otterbein, L.E., Kureishi, Y., Walsh, K., Ray, A., Ray, P. Activated Akt protects the lung from oxidant-induced injury and increases survival of mice. J. Exp. Med. 193: 545-549. Journal of Experimental Medicine. 2001; 193: 545-549.
Ray, P., Devaux, Y., Stolz, D.B., Yarlagadda, M., Watkinsn, S.C., Liu, W., Lu, Y., Yang, X.F., Ray, A. Inducible expression of keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) in mice inhibits lung epithelial cell death induced by hyperoxia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America. 2003; 100: 6098-6103.
Chen, L., Arora, M., Yarlagadda, M., Oriss, T., Krishnamorthy, N., Ray, A., Ray, P. Distinct Responses of Lung and Spleen Dendritic Cells to the TLR9 Agonist CpG Oligodeoxynucleotide. Journal of Immunology. 2006; 177: 2373-2383.
Krishnamoorthy, N., Oriss, T.B., Paglia, M., Fei, M., Vanhaesebroeck, B., Ray, A., Ray, P. Activation of the c-kit-PI3 kinase Axis Induces the Regulatory Cytokine Interleukin-6 in Dendritic cells Impacting Allergic Immune Responses In the Lung. Nature Medicine. 2008; 14: 565-573.
Arora, M., Poe, S.L., Oriss, T.B., Krishnamoorthy, N., Yarlagadda, M., Wenzel, S.E., Billiar, T.R., Ray, A., Ray, P. TLR4/MyD88-Induced CD11b+Gr-1intF4/80+ Non-Migratory Myeloid Cells Suppress Th2 Effector Function in the Lung Mucosal. Journal of Immunology. 2010; 3: 578-593.
Krishnamoorthy, N., Khare, A., Oriss, T.B., Raundhal, M., Morse, C., Yarlagadda, M, Wenzel, S.E., Moore, M.L., Peebles, R.S., Ray, A., Ray, P. Early infection with respiratory syncytial virus impairs regulatory T cell function and increases susceptibility to allergic asthma. Nature Medicine. 2012; 18: 1525-1530.
Poe, S.L., Arora, M., Oriss, T.B., Yarlagadda, M., Issse, K,, Khare, A., Levy, D.E., Lee, J.S., Mallampalli, R.K., Ray, A., Ray, P. STAT1-regulated Lung MDSC-like Cells Produce IL-10 and Efferocytose Apoptotic Neutrophils With Relevance In Resolution of Bacterial Pneumonia. Mucosal Immunology. 2013; 6: 189-199.
Sponsored Research/Activities
Title: Mechanisms of Host Protection Against Pathogen-Secreted Proteases in Acute Lung Injury
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding Agency: National Heart, Lung, & Blood Institute
Grant Number: R01 HL136143
Start Year: 2017
End Year: 2022
Title: Mechanisms of Antigen-Induced Tolerance in the Lung
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding Agency: National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases
Grant Number: R01 AI048927
Start Year: 2016
End Year: 2021
Title: Immune Airway-Epithelial Interactions in Steroid-Refractory Severe Asthma
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding Agency: National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases
Grant Number: P01 AI106684
Start Year: 2015
End Year: 2020
Title: Proj 3 - Immunosuppression in Acute Lung Injury
Role: Project Leader
Funding Agency: Ohio State University/ National Heart, Lung, & Blood Institute
Grant Number: P01
Start Year: 2019
End Year: 2024
Notable Achievements
American Lung Association Award, 1992-1994
Editorial Board-Amer Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, 2004-
NHLBI PO1 grant review, 2007
Invited to contribute to Year In Immunology 2010 volume of the NY Academy of Sc, 2010
Study published in Nature Medicine on RSV infection in early life covered by BBC and other media, 2012
Immunity and Host Defense Study Section member, 2014
Member of committee for tenure and promotion of faculty-Harvard University, 2014
NIAID PO1 grant review, 2015
Lung Immunology Endowed Chair, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, 2016

Division Websites

Cardiology

Endocrinology and Metabolism

Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

General Internal Medicine

Geriatric Medicine
Hematology/Oncology

Infectious Diseases

Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine

Renal-Electrolyte

Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology

Contact

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