Fluorescence micrograph of mitochondria in pulmonary artery endothelial cells.

Metabolic reprogramming in pulmonary vascular and fibrotic lung disease

The Oldham Lab investigates how cellular metabolic reprogramming contributes to pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary fibrosis. By improving our understanding of cell metabolism, we aim to develop new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of lung disease.

We study in vitro and in vivo model systems with state-of-the-art analytical techniques, including metabolomics, stable isotope tracing, extracellular flux analysis, systems biology, and network medicine. The lab is part of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Brown University Health.

Research

Lactate transport

Myofibroblast differentiation depends on sustained glycolysis, and therefore on lactate export. We are defining monocarboxylate transport as a target in pulmonary fibrosis.

Nutrient requirements for matrix synthesis

Matrix production is a biosynthetic problem. We are identifying the nutrients fibroblasts consume to build extracellular matrix, and testing whether blocking their transport attenuates fibrosis.

Metabolic regulation in pulmonary vascular disease

Pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells proliferate in low oxygen when most cells stop. We are defining the metabolic signal that permits it, and testing whether blocking it prevents vascular remodeling.

No matching items

All research →

The lab

No matching items

Full roster and alumni →

News

August 2026

Jacob Nipoti joins the lab as a research assistant, arriving from the University of New Hampshire.

June 2026

Navneet Singh joins the lab. He is Assistant Professor of Medicine and studies the liver–lung axis in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

May 2026

The lab's work on lactate transport in pulmonary fibrosis is published in Science Translational Medicine, and selected for a research highlight in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery.

No matching items

All news →

Recent papers

2026
TGF-β coordinates alanine synthesis and import for myofibroblast differentiation in pulmonary fibrosis Li F, Vigder N, Ziehr DR, … Ferreyra Faustino DE, Khalil AH, Lam HC, … Oldham WM · JCI Insight
2026
Exploring the lung–liver axis in pulmonary arterial hypertension Singh N, Lawson J, Ragavendran A, … Oldham WM, … Ventetuolo CE · Comprehensive Physiology
2026
Lactate transport inhibition therapeutically reprograms fibroblast metabolism in experimental pulmonary fibrosis Ziehr DR, Li F, Parnell KM, … Leahy KJ, … Oldham WM · Science Translational Medicine
No matching items

All publications →