My research in the Black lab is focused on sepsis-associated acute lung injury (ALI) and it’s more severe form, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). ALI/ARDS are devastating diseases that have a high mortality rate and are an extreme burden on hospital ICUs. Specifically, I am interested in how mitochondrial dynamics and bioenergetics are involved in endothelial dysfunction. Endothelial dysfunction is a major contributor to the pathogenesis of ALI/ARDS and can lead to overall endothelial-barrier disruption. The goal of this research is to identify novel therapeutic targets to treat ALI/ARDS.