Client: John Fahy, MD, Msc, Professor of Pulmonary Medicine, UCSF School of Medicine, Director of the CVRI Airway Clinical Research Center

Team: Shalmalee Pandit, Weina Chen, Ryan Zolyomi, Sudershan Srinivasan

Purpose:
Mucus is present in healthy airways to trap and transport foreign particles. Conditions such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, and COPD, however, can result in a buildup of pathological mucus, called sputum, which can obstruct airways. The client’s research goal is to characterize novel aerosolized drugs’ effects on pathological mucus. The current lab setup includes utilizing rheology to determine the elastic modulus of the sputum, which quantitatively measures the effect of the drug on the sputum’s properties. The goal of this project is to develop a safe and effective experimental setup to deliver aerosolized drugs within the existing rheometer setup.