2019 Gumbo final - Book - Page 100
Research That is
Award-Winning
Story // Bailey Chauvin
Photo // Reveille Photographer
Design // Catherine Carpenter
LSU Veterinary Assistant Professor
Receives About $4 million to
Continue His Research
SU Veterinary assistant professor Yogesh Saini
received the Outstanding New Environmental Scientist
(ONES) award, which will allow him to continue
researching ozone-induced lung diseases. Saini is one
of only five ONES award recipients this year.
Saini was awarded a $2.7 million grant that will fund his research
for the next five years. As of now, he has received about $4 million
in funding through various grants for research of the mechanisms
of different lung diseases.
The ONES award was created by the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences in 2006 to support environmental
health research investigators who are in the early stages of their
careers. Saini said the award is widely regarded as among the
biggest awards within the biological sciences.
“This is an honor because it’s very competitive,” Saini said. “When
I used to talk to people in environmental research, they used to
say this award was very competitive. ‘The best and the brightest’ is
what they used to call you if you get it.”
Saini has been generating data in preparation for applying for
the ONES award since he began working at the LSU School of
Veterinary Medicine in 2014. He and his team submitted their
proposal in February 2018 and received their letter of award in
February 2019.
Saini’s research focuses on how inhaled ozone affects lung
functioning. Ozone is a gas that aggressively attacks the lungs
when inhaled and can induce asthmatic symptoms. Anyone
who spends time outdoors is at risk of breathing in ozone, but
children, the elderly and those with preexisting lung diseases are
particularly at risk, Saini said.
Macrophages, white blood cells that digest foreign substances, are
now considered the first responders.
“Historically, researchers used to think these cells were just
standing there like cops seeing if we inhaled something dirty,”
Saini said. “No one actually paid attention to these cells, but my
research is saying that these are the major players.”
Macrophages are flexible in terms of movement around the
lungs and their population size, giving them an important role of
defending the host from disease. The Environmental Protection
Agency is attempting to limit the amount of ozone in the air,
but Saini said it’s critical to understand the mechanisms of
macrophages to combat the effects of high levels of ozone.
In order to understand the pathogenesis of ozone-induced lung
diseases, Saini experiments with several kinds of mice that differ
in their expression of certain genes. The mice are exposed to
ozone at night in special chambers. Humans are exposed to ozone
at times when they are most active during the day, so Saini’s
experiments model that by exposing the mice to ozone when
they’re most active.
After the mice are exposed to ozone, Saini observes the effects of
the ozone on the different types of mice.
Saini said his current research is key to accomplishing his longterm goal of creating a drug that shuts down the pathways of
ozone-induced lung diseases.
“Drug development is a long process,” Saini said. “We’ll be
fortunate if we get it done in the next 10 to 20 years. The first step
is to understand the pathways of disease in the animals. This study
is the foundation of what we really need down the road.”
Saini plans to use the $2.7 million grant to hire more graduate
and postdoctoral students and buy equipment to continue his
experiments. He attributes his success in obtaining the grant to his
research team and the continued support of administration at the
Vet School.
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