Terry Gordon, PhD

Our research program employs both human and animal models to study susceptibility factors—including genetics, age, and gender—underlying the adverse pulmonary and cardiac effects of environmental and occupational air pollutants. Our collaborators include several investigators at NYU School of Medicine and other academic centers.

One primary aim is to examine the cellular, molecular, and humoral interactions that lead to pollutant-induced pulmonary injury, with a focus on the contribution of genetic factors. We study the role of genetic host factors in murine models of disease, using both classic mouse genetics and computational genomics approaches.

Ambient particulate matter, which produces significant adverse cardiopulmonary effects, is another focus of the lab. Our recent research has examined the toxicity of particulate matter according to particle size, season, composition, and location (urban versus rural). We have collected ambient particulate matter in several cities in the United States, Germany, and China (the latter both during and after the 2008 Olympics in Beijing). Our lab also examines the role of coarse, fine, and ultrafine particulate matter, both in vitro and in vivo.

We are currently conducting longitudinal studies on the cardiopulmonary effects of mainstream and secondhand smoke from hookahs and e-cigarettes in private residences and in in hookah bars in New York City, and of exposure to various pollutants in volunteers before and after exercising along high-volume roadways.