Department of Internal Medicine

Pulmonary, Critical Care and
Occupational Medicine Faculty


Michael Welsh photo

Medical School:
The University of Iowa

Residency:
The University of Iowa

Fellowship:
University of California,
San Francisco
University of Texas

Michael J. Welsh, M.D.
Professor of Medicine, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, and Neurosurgery
Roy J. Carver Biomedical Chair in Internal Medicine
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Director, Pappajohn Institute

Director, Cystic Fibrosis Research Center

Dr. Welsh's clinical interests include the diagnosis and therapy of lung disease, especially airway diseases.  His research focuses in three main areas.  First, his lab is working to understand the biology and pathogenesis of cystic fibrosis and on developing new treatments.  Second, he investigates the physiology and cell biology of airway epithelia, including the cilia that cover their surface.  Third, he is investigating the biology of acid sensing ion channels in the central and peripheral nervous systems with an emphasis on their role in fear and neurological diseases.

Honors, Awards, and Organizations

Recent Selected Publications

  1. Rogers CS, StoltZ DA, Meyerholz DK, Ostedgaard LS,  Rokhlina T, Taft PJ, Rogan MP, Pezzulo AA, Karp PH, Itani OA, Kabel AC, Wohlford-Lenane CL, Davis GJ, Hanfland RA, Smith TL, Samuel M, Wax D, Murphy CN, Rieke A, Whitworth K, Uc A, Starner TD, Brogden KA, Shilyansky J, McCray, Jr. PB, Zabner J, Prather RS and Welsh MJ.  Disruption of the CFTR Gene Produces a Model of Cystic Fibrosis in Newborn Pigs.  Science.  321:1837-1841, 2008.
  2. Flynn AN, Itani OA, Moninger TO, and Welsh MJ. Acute Regulation of Tight Junction Ion Selectivity in Human Airway Epithelia. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 106:3591-3596, 2009.
  3. Sun Y, Liu L, Ben-Shahar Y, Jacobs J, Eberl D, and Welsh MJ. TRPA Channels Distinguish Gravity Sensing from Hearing in Johnston's Organ.  Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 106:1306-1311, 2009.
  4. Shah AS, Ben-Shahar Y, Moninger TO, Kline JN, and Welsh MJ. Motile Cilia of Human Airway Epithelia are Chemosensory.  Science, 325:1131-1134, 2009.
  5. Ziemann AE, Allen JE, Dahdaleh NS, Drebot II, Coryell M, Wunsch AM, Lynch CM, Faraci FM, Howard MA, Welsh MJ, and Wemmie JA.  The Amygdala Is a Chemosensor that Detects Carbon Dioxide and Acidosis to Elicit Fear Behavior.  Cell 139:1012-1021, 2009.
  6. Meyerholz D, Stoltz D, Pezzulo A, and Welsh MJ. Pathology of Gastrointestinal Organs in a Porcine Model of Cystic Fibrosis. Am. J. Pathol., 176(3):1377-1389, 2010.
  7. Stoltz DA, Meyerholz DK, Pezzulo AA, Ramachandran S, Rogan MP, Davis GJ, Hanfland RA, Wohlford-Lenane C, Dohrn CL, Bartlett JA, Nelson GA, Chang EH, Taft PJ, Ludwig PS, Estin M, Hornick EE, Launspach JL, Samuel M, Rokhlina T, Karp PH, Ostedgaard LS, Uc A, Starner TD, Horswill AR, Brogden KA, Prather RS, Richter SS, Shilyansky J, McCray PB, Jr., Zabner J, and Welsh MJ. Cystic Fibrosis Pigs Develop Lung Disease and Exhibit Defective Bacterial Eradication at Birth.  Science Translation. Med., 2:(29):29ra31, 2010.
  8. Meyerholz DK, Stoltz DA, Namati E, Ramachandran S, Pezzulo AA, Smith AR, Rector MV, Suter MJ, Kao S, McLennan G, Tearney GJ, Zabner J, McCray Jr. PB, and Welsh MJ. Loss of CFTR Function Produces Abnormalities in Tracheal Development in Neonatal Pigs and Young Children.  Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., DOI:101164/rccm.201004-0643OC, 2010.
  9. Rogan MP, Reznikov LR, Pezzulo AA, Gansemer ND, Samuel M, Prather RS, Zabner J, Fredericks DC, McCray PB Jr, Welsh MJ, and Stoltz DA. Pigs and Humans with Cystic Fibrosis have Reduced IGF-1 Levels at Birth. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, in press, 2010.
  10. Chen J-H, Stoltz DA, Karp PH, Ernst SE, Pezzulo AA, Moninger TO, Rector MV, Reznikov LR, Launspach JL, Chaloner K, Zabner J, and Welsh MJ. Loss of Anion Transport Without Alterations in Sodium Absorption Characterize Newborn Porcine Cystic Fibrosis Airway Epithelia. Cell, in press, 2010.

Links of Interest

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