The core focus in my research has been the study of the causes behind airways hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and allergen induced bronchoconstriction. These two phenomena are part of the respiratory phenotype in several airway diseases together with airway inflammation and remodeling. The disease models I have established in my laboratory are frequently used testing drug candidates in collaboration with industry understanding the physiological and pharmacological mechanisms of airways diseases such as asthma, COPD and lung infections. One example is the use of biologicals to inhibit iNKT cells to moderate AHR.Using a multidisciplinary approach including animal models and systems, transgenic mice, physiology, imaging and clinical studies, we are attempting to understand the pathophysiological basis of airways diseases to better diagnose and treat patients. The primary technique we use to assess respiratory mechanics is the forced oscillation technique (FOT) which allows for extremely precise measurements of the respiratory system.Combining FOT with micro computed tomography has allowed us to model how AHR manifests in the respiratory system in a unique way and explain the localization of AHR. We were able to publish the first-ever model of allergen-induced bronchoconstriction in mice. This achievement addresses a major shortcoming of previous mouse models of asthma and opens up completely new avenues to study the acute response in asthma. This work is now being extended into the study of the role of obesity-driven mast cell inflammation in the lungs. In recent work collaborating with the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College we are developing techniques to diagnose lung infections via exhaled breath.

I worked as a Research Associate at Draco AB (later to become AstraZeneca Plc) 1987 – 1993 and was then promoted to Research Scientist in 1993 and Pre-clinical Project Manager in 1996. During this time I kept my affiliation with the Department of Animal physiology, Lund University serving as a lecturer and Research Associate and mentoring students. I was involved in numerous drug oriented projects in the demand of physiology skills. In this context I was also a part in the build-up of allergic mouse models for asthma and was responsible for establishing a research group using a model of allergic asthma in sheep. I also served on the Site Management Committee at the AstraZeneca Lund site and was also a member of the AstraZeneca AB board in 2000.