Joseph Brain
Cecil K. and Philip Drinker Professor of Environmental Physiology
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Biography
Dr. Brain is the Cecil K. and Philip Drinker Professor of Environmental Physiology with the Department of Environmental Health at the Harvard School of Public Health. His research emphasizes responses to inhaled gases, particulates, and microbes. His studies extend from the deposition of inhaled particles in the respiratory tract to their clearance by respiratory defense mechanisms. Of particular interest is the role of lung macrophages; this resident cell keeps lung surfaces clean and sterile. Moreover, the lung macrophage is also a critical regulator of inflammatory and immune responses. The context of these studies on macrophages is the prevention and pathogenesis of environmental lung disease as well as respiratory infection.
His research has utilized magnetic particles in macrophages throughout the body as a non-invasive tool for measuring cell motility and the response of macrophages to various mediators and toxins. Other experiments deal with the use of lung lavage to obtain and characterize macrophages. A rodent bioassay utilizing lung lavage has been developed; the assay has been used to estimate the relative toxicity of new and complex mixtures such as molds, urban dusts, welding fume, new materials being used in the workplace, as well as drugs and excipients administered by inhalation, including nanomaterials.