Christian Bime, MD, MSc

Dr. Bime is a junior investigator whose translational research is focused deciphering the genetic and non-genetic factors that underlie the well-recognized health disparities that exist in the critically ill. Specifically, he seeks to identify biomarkers that would help stratify Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) patients and better investigate novel therapies. His research focus aligns neatly with the translational systems biology research program of his mentor aimed at understanding the mechanistic basis of lung vascular permeability and on the genetic aspects of inflammatory lung injury. After two years of support by the University of Arizona Health Sciences Career Development Award (UAHS-CDA), Dr. Bime learned advanced skills in, animal biology, genetic analysis and biomedical informatics. The UAHS-CDA was instrumental in helping him generate the preliminary data for a successful NIH/NHLBI K08 grant award, currently in its second year. With continuous and close mentorship of his mentor and support from his department leadership, he is acquiring the leadership skills necessary to lead and manage a laboratory and a translational research team. These skills have allowed him to conduct the necessary preliminary work and generate data that will be critical for an RO1 grant application to be submitted to the NIH/NHLBI. Specifically, he has characterized the regulation of selectin P ligand (SELPLG) gene promoter by ARDS-associated genetic variants and explored the effects of SELPLG coding genetic variants on the activity of P-selectin ligand (PSGL1) in preclinical ARDS models. He is currently recruiting a cohort of ARDS patients at the University of Arizona that will be critical for validating identified biomarkers.