Research Laboratories

Sime Laboratory

Welcome to the Sime Laboratory. We invite you to learn more about us from this web site and please feel free to contact us anytime. We would be pleased to hear from you.

Our laboratory focuses on identifying pathogenetic mechanisms underlying lung disease so that we can speed the identification and development of new and exciting therapeutics. Diseases we study include lung scarring (fibrosis) and smoke and other toxicant induced lung inflammatory diseases such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema (COPD).

Translational Lung Cancer Research Group (TLCaRG)

Welcome to the Translational Lung Cancer Research Group (TLCaRG). Please feel to contact us for any info about our members and the research we conduct. We would be pleased to hear from you.

The TLCaRG focuses its research on discovering new strategies for lung cancer detection and the development of RNA based therapeutics. Our research also investigates the role of immunotherapy as an approach for treating lung cancer. Additional areas of investigation include the role of the microbiome in lung cancer pathogenesis and the development of clinically informative biomarkers in the diagnosis and management of malignant pleural disease, lung cancer associated cachexia and COPD.

Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health

The Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health (SSI) at Virginia Commonwealth University is a premier center dedicated to advancing research, clinical care, and education in liver disease and metabolic disorders. Bringing together world-class scientists and clinicians, SSI drives fully translational research, from basic scientific discovery to clinical implementation, to improve outcomes for patients with acute and chronic liver diseases. Through innovative science, collaborative partnerships, and a commitment to excellence, SSI serves as a national leader in hepatology and metabolic health.

Freeberg Research Laboratory

Welcome to the Freeberg Research Laboratory.  Our research leverages concepts from mechanobiology, tissue engineering, and cellular metabolic reprogramming to identify novel therapeutic targets.

In the Freeberg Research Lab, we study lung fibrosis (scarring), which is a devastating disease with limited therapeutic options. Understanding disease pathogenesis is critical to identifying novel drug targets. Our lab investigates how cells in the lung sense and respond to their mechanical/physical environment and how these machanosensation processes alter cellular metabolism. Our work seeks to understand how mechanotransduction interfaces with cellular metabolic reprogramming in fibrosis.