Virender K Rehan

Biography

Dr. Rehan’s research interests include neonatal lung maturity and injury-repair, with a special emphasis on lung injury repair following perinatal exposure to insults such as hyperoxia, infection, and nicotine. The studies in his lab have provide novel insights into the pathogenesis of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD), Childhood Asthma, and Chronic Lung Disease and have lead to the creation of innovative strategies to prevent/treat these conditions. Additionally, Dr. Rehan examines the relationship between Vitamin D consumption over the duration of the perinatal period and its possible impact on childhood asthma. He also studies the potentially serious impact of perinatal exposure to 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-hand smoke (the newly formed toxins from tobacco smoke that remain on furniture, in cars, on clothing and other surfaces) on the lung development of not only the exposed offspring, but also on the lung development of the progeny of many subsequent generations that follow after the initial exposure. These studies have vastly expanded our current understanding of the impact of perinatal smoke exposure on the epidemiology of chronic lung disease worldwide. In 2005, and using as a foundation his years of laboratory work, Dr. Rehan co-founded LA BioMed’s Linc Pharmaceuticals, a company dedicated to developing anti-fibrotic technologies. He currently serves as the organization’s medical affairs adviser.

Research Interest

Feto-neonatal lung maturity, injury-repair, and transgenerational transmission of acquired traits