Dr Simon Johnson
Reader in Respiratory Medicine
Honorary Consultant Physician
Telephone: +44 (0)115 8231063
Fax: +44 (0)1158231059
NHS sec: +44 (0)1159249924 ext 35891
E mail: simon.johnson@nottingham.ac.uk
Clinical interests
Respiratory medicine, interstitial lung disease, lymphangioleiomyomatosis, rare lung disease.
Co-chair of the European Respiratory Society LAM Task Force
Member of the LAM Foundation scientific board
Member of the Tuberous Sclerosis Association specialist advisory panel
Research interests
Our group use a range of laboratory and clinical methods to take a translational approach to research questions.
See Recent Publications
Lung cell / extra-cellular matrix interactions
Lymphangioleiomyomatosis
airway remodelling cell biology of TSC 1 / 2
matrix metalloproteinases angiomyolipoma models
myofibroblast / extra cellular matrix interactions clinical studies / trials
myofibroblast extra-cellular matrix receptors UK LAM database
Airway remodelling in asthma is categorised by airway smooth muscle hypertrophy and hyperplasia, change in the type and amount of the extra cellular matrix and epithelial shedding and mucous gland hyperplasia. Our interest is how airway proteases and myofibroblast / extra cellular matrix interactions effect myofibroblast growth and behaviour. These studies employ primary airway cell culture, co-cultures, protein expression, functional activity assay real time PCR and proteomics. Collaborators Prof. Alan Knox. UoN. Dr Wolfgang Vogel, University of Toronto
Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare lung and lymphatic disease categorised by infiltration of smooth muscle type cells in the lungs and lymphatics leading to progressive respiratory impairment. The disease only effects women and is caused by a defect in one of the two proteins associated with tuberous sclerosis, tuberin and hamartin. Our group has a clinical interest in LAM, runs the UK LAM database and is involved in a number of clinical studies and trials. Collaborators Prof. AE Tattersfield. UoN. Dr Marsha Cohen, University of Toronto.
Laboratory research projects on LAM include the role of matrix metalloproteinases in LAM, mechanisms targeting LAM cells to the lungs and lymphatics and the examination of drug effects in Xenograft models. Collaborators Prof. Sue Watson, UoN.
Matrix metalloproteinases are proteolytic enzymes secreted by a range of cells and regulated by pro-inflammatory cytokines, growth factors, and extra cellular matrix. We have been studying these in airway myofibroblasts and also specific diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and LAM. Collaborators Prof. Noor Kalsheker, UoN.
Research Group
Dr Debbie Clements Senior Research Fellow Pathogenesis of LAM, molecular biology
Dr Lorna Magowan Senior Experimental Officer Protein biology
Imran Ul-Haq MRC PhD student Functional variants of MMP genes in COPD
Natasha Rogers PhD student
Dr William Chang Clinical Research Fellow
Please get in touch on simon.johnson@nottingham.ac.uk for current positions.
Funding
Back to Division of Therapeutics & Molecular Medicine