Mehdi S. Mirsaeidi is a physician-scientist with an interest in studying lung immune system in interstitial lung disease and respiratory infections.

Mirsaeidi's laboratory currently focuses on:

• Exosome-based diagnostic and therapeutic applications for pulmonary diseases.
• Bacteriophage as a novel clustering tool in pulmonary disease and therapeutic agent for multidrug pathogens.

Mehdi S. Mirsaeidi, M.D., M.P.H.
Associate Chair of Research and Innovation; Chief, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville

Lab Faculty and Staff

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Abdolrazagh Hashemi Shahraki, PhD

Assistant Scientist

Morgan P. Howard, MS

Research Coordinator II

Current Projects

• Lung inflammatory disease and novel anti-inflammatory agents
  Lung inflammation occurs from exposures to environmental agents, pathogens and inborn errors. It may be a short-lived response or a long-term condition. Since inflammation is an immunologic response and may initiate damages to lung tissue, the lab has been studying novel therapeutic agents and their mechanism of effects (MIA602 and α-MSH) to reduce lung inflammation, particularly in chronic respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, fibromyalgia, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and sarcoidosis.
• Bacteriophage as a novel tool in pulmonary disease
  The discovery of antibiotics has been one of the most significant advances in modern medicine. Antibiotics have saved millions of lives, however, misuse of antibiotics and global consumption of them in animal production has significantly fueled the rise of multi-drug resistant MDR pathogens. To combat MDR pathogens, one of the breakthrough strategies that goes beyond classical antibiotic mechanisms is applying bacteriophages, or phages, as natural bacterial killers. Lytic phages bind to their host cells and start replication inside the host which finally causes host cell lysis. Isolation and characterization of lytic phages for clinical use against MDR pathogens is one of our missions at the division of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine in the department of medicine at the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville.
• Exosomes as a novel tool in cancer research
  Exosomes are small extracellular vesicles produced by most cell types and delivered into bodily fluids, as part of a larger network by which cells communicate with each other. Exosomes have recently emerged as a key player in cancer including cancer prognostic markers, therapeutic targets, or even as anticancer drug‐carrier. We also focus on clarificiation of the molecular mechanism of how exosomes are produced, endocytosis, biological roles in tumor progression and elucidate the potential application of exosomes as diagnostic and therapeutic tools and drug carriers.