Tim Lahm, MD
Principal Investigator
303.270.2234
LahmT@NJHealth.org
Education
MD - University of Heidelberg Medical School, Heidelberg, 2000
Internship, Anesthesiology and Thoracic Surgery - University of Heidelberg Medical School, Heidelberg, Germany, 2002
Residency, Internal Medicine - Indiana University School of Medicine, 2005
Pulmonary/Critical Care Fellowship - Indiana University School of Medicine, 2008
Background
Tim is a physician scientist in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at National Jewish Health with a focus on the study of sexual dimorphisms in lung vascular remodeling and right ventricular (RV) adaptation in pulmonary hypertension (PH). He serves as the Director of Pulmonary Vascular Biology at NJH. The overall goal of his research is to identify novel therapeutic interventions for PH-induced RV and lung vascular dysfunction. In particular, he is interested in gender differences in PH and the role of sex hormones in PH and RV failure. His laboratory is studying mechanisms of how sex hormones such as 17β-estradiol affect lung and RV endothelial cell homeostasis as well as cardiomyocyte function during PH and RV failure development. A specific focus is on deciphering how estrogen receptor alpha promotes resilience to maladaptive RV remodeling by regulating angiogenesis, contractile signaling and inflammatory processes. Other areas of interest in Tim’s lab include studies of hypoxia-induced lung vascular and RV remodeling, neurohormonal signaling in the RV, exercise effects on RV function, and novel PH phenotypes in the veteran population. Tim’s lab recently expanded its studies of sexually dimorphic lung diseases to study androgen signaling in asthma and to identify mechanisms of how androgens modulate airway epithelial cell function. Tim’s research is funded through the NIH and the Department of Veterans Affairs. He is heavily involved with multiple professional societies and currently serves as the Chair of the American Thoracic Society Pulmonary Circulation Assembly. He is particularly proud of his mentoring record and feels fortunate that he is able to work with outstanding students, postdocs, fellows and junior faculty. Seeing these people develop their careers and exhibit personal growth is the most rewarding aspect of his career.
Tim’s clinical interest is in PH, RV failure and lymphangioleiomyomatosis - conditions that exhibit significant gender biases and that disproportionally affect women. He is also passionate about critical care medicine and provides care to critically ill patients in the intensive care unit.
When he is not writing about himself in the third person, Tim enjoys mountain biking, paddle boarding, sailing, skiing, hiking, camping, cooking, exploring microbreweries, and spending time with his wife, three kids, two dogs and cat (all of which are foodicisits).
Maya Beesley
Undergraduate Student
818.564.9932
Maya.beesley@du.edu
Education
BS, University of Denver, 2020-2024
Background
Maya is finishing her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry at the University of Denver. She joined the lab with a summer internship stipend award to her from DU and will continue to work with the lab in her last academic year. She previously worked as a lab analyst certified in qPCR for the Molecular Biology Clinical Diagnostics Laboratory at DU. Maya is hoping to pursue an MD-PhD dual degree.
Simon Bousseau, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
303.270.2234
BousseauS@NJHealth.org
Education
University of Angers, Angers, France, 2012-2018
Institut Catholique d’Etudes superieures, La Roche sur Yon, France, 2010-2012
Background
Simon has completed his PhD in France in 2018, describing the beneficial properties of a pharmacological compound, Phostin 3.1a, which increases angiogenesis and reverses the metabolic Warburg effect in Glioblastoma associated endothelial cells. After two years in industry, he has joined the Lahm lab in January 2021 to study the role of estrogen on both angiogenesis and endothelial metabolism in the context of pulmonary hypertension.
Rafael Fais, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
sobranofaisr@njhealth.org
303.270.2234
Education
University of Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto Medical School, PHD, 2016-2020
University of Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto Medical School, MS, 2014-2016
University of Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto Medical School, BS, 2016-2020
Background
Rafael is now a postdoctoral research fellow at National Jewish Health. While he was doing his bachelor’s at Ribeirao Preto Medical School, his under-graduation work focused on the central mechanisms of pain control mainly the descending serotoninergic and noradrenergic pathways. Subsequently, on his master’s worked he worked on the endothelin-1 induced inflammation in erectile tissue, focused on the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway. During his PhD he also worked on investigating endothelin-1-induced NLRP3 activation in DOCA/salt model of hypertension, focused on the erectile and vascular function impairment promoted by the NLRP3 inflammasome. Additionally, he has been working on the crosstalk between sex hormone signaling and NLRP3 inflammasome in right ventricle in pulmonary hypertension.
Vijaya Karoor PhD
Assistant Professor
Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine
University of Colorado Denver
karoorv@njhealth.org
Education
PhD in Biochemistry Indian Institute of Sciences Bangalore India
Background
I have a joint appointment at University of Colorado Denver and National Jewish Health. My research is focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms of hypoxia and induced vascular remodeling in lung diseases with particular emphasis in COPD. In addition, I am studying the effects of alveolar hypoxia on lung carcinogenesis.
Jiajun Li, MS
Graduate Student
lij@njhealth.org
303.270.2234
Education
University of Colorado | Anschutz Medical Campus, 2021-current
Illinois Institute of Technology, MS, 2017
Ocean University of China, BS, 2015
Background
Jiajun is now a PhD at University of Colorado | Anschutz Medical Campus. While he was doing his master’s at Illinois Institute of Technology, his work focused on an isoform of Bax (BaxΔ2) and its microsatellite variation in colon cancer cell lines. He subsequently worked on a BMPR2 mutation found in patients with hereditary pulmonary hypertension and investigated the effects of fibroblasts on vascular remodeling. He has also been working on investigating the effects of pre-conditioning stimulus on the metabolic properties of iPSC-CM which may help to enhance cardiac regeneration. Now, his project is focused on effects of estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) on endothelial cell function in right heart failure.
Karina Mora-Massad, MD
Medical Fellow
303.270.2082
mormassadk@njhealth.org
Education
BS, Texas A&M University, 2013
MD, University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio, 2019
Internship and Residency, Internal Medicine, Duke University Hospital, 2022
Fellowship, Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine, University of Colorado/National Jewish Health, 2022-present
Background
Karina is a fellow in the department of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Colorado and National Jewish Health. She joined the Lahm lab in 2023. She is currently studying human endothelial cell heterogeneity across sub-groups of pulmonary hypertension. Clinically she is interested in pulmonary hypertension, critical care, and general pulmonary medicine. She hopes to establish a career as a physician scientist with a focus on translational studies in pulmonary hypertension.
In her free time, she enjoys making things (sewing, painting, knitting), board games, live music, basketball and spending time with her husband.
Tsering Palmo, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
720.334.3017
palmot@njhealth.org
Education
PhD in Biotechnology from CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology and Jamia Hamdard, Delhi, India.
Background
Tsering Palmo is a postdoctoral research fellow at National Jewish Health. She works in the Lahm and Petrache laboratories to study the effects and mechanisms of cigarette smoking on lung and cardiovascular disease. During her PhD, she worked to elucidate the genetic interplay between oxygen-sensing and vascular modulation genes responsible for adaptation and maladaptation at high altitude.
She enjoys spending time with and cooking for her family and friends.
Avram Walts, MS
Senior Professional Research Assistant
Laboratory Manager
303.270.2234
WaltsA@NJHealth.org
Education
B.S., UCLA, 1996
M.S., University of Michigan, 1999
Background
Avram recently joined the Lahm Lab as the lab manger. He previously worked on Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis and Stat3 signaling at both the University of Colorado and the National Institutes of Health. He and his wife can often be found outdoors hiking, camping, or skiing. Avram is also an amateur photographer.