Kirk M. Druey, M.D.

The primary focus of our laboratory is to understand the signaling pathways evoked by G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and the role of the dysregulated GPCR signaling in the pathogenesis of asthma and allergic disease. Although therapeutic agents targeting GPCRs have long been used to treat asthma and allergies, much remains unknown regarding pathomechanisms associated with their downstream signaling pathways. Our goals are to identify specific genetic and molecular abnormalities involved in two distinct processes: 1) airway contraction and relaxation and 2) vascular permeability. Our studies of asthma utilize mouse models of allergen-induced airway inflammation, which have uncovered novel therapeutic targets for specific asthma endotypes. The second area of focus is a rare and highly unusual disorder, the Systemic Capillary Leak Syndrome. This disease is characterized by reversible episodes of hypovolemia, hypotensive shock, and anasarca, which are thought to be a result of transient endothelial hyper-permeability.

Dr. Druey obtained his M.D. from Rush Medical College in Chicago, Illinois. In 1992, following a residency in internal medicine at The New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Cent​er, Dr. Druey became a postdoctoral fellow in the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation. He joined the Laboratory of Allergic Diseases in 1997 to become chief of the Molecular Signal Transduction Section.