Fibrosis—or the formation of excess connective tissues—is a common outcome of chronic injury and is the culprit behind a range of life-threatening diseases including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, liver cirrhosis and renal fibrosis. A growing aging population and rising obesity rates are increasing the number of patients affected by fibrosis.
Yale researchers are working to better understand the mechanisms of inflammation and fibrosis and are discovering the pathways of healing that lead to both tissue regeneration and fibrosis in the body’s organs. The Yale Tissue Regeneration and Fibrosis Program brings together experts in diverse disciplines in the study of injury, repair, regeneration and fibrosis. It also connects outside scientists to Yale to establish collaborations in a range of areas of expertise, including stem cell biology, high throughput screening, genomics, proteomics, bioengineering and in vivo models of injury and fibrosis. Yale researchers are discovering the common underlying mechanisms of different forms of pulmonary fibrosis – and scientists at Yale were some of the first to design a bioartificial lung designed for studying cell interactions and have successfully engineered lung tissue regeneration.