University of Arizona · BiologyLung Health and Immunity Unit
Julie Gunnells Ledford · Tucson, Arizona
Research Focus
Dr. Julie Gunnells Ledford’s lab at the University of Arizona focuses on understanding how a protein called CC16 influences lung health, especially in the context of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The research aims to uncover how CC16 helps defend against respiratory infections and how deficiencies in this protein during early life can affect long-term lung function. The lab investigates both the immune response to viruses like Rhinovirus and how early life infections can lead to changes in lung development and disease progression.
asthmachronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseCC16Rhinoviruslung defense mechanismsviral infectionsairway remodeling
Research Aims
3AIM 01Determine mechanisms by which CC16 promotes epithelial-driven host defense against respiratory pathogens.
AIM 02Examine the impact of CC16 deficiency during early life viral infection on lung development and function in adult life.
AIM 03Determine if circulating CC16 levels and asthma status impact nasal epithelial cell production of antimicrobials and antivirals.
Skills the Lab Values
cell culturemolecular cloningRNA extractionWestern blotepigenetic analysisimmunoassaysmouse modelsflow cytometryantibody development
Output against the department
Publications123bottom 44% of dept.578th of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations3.0kbottom 23% of dept.799th of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.