Lewis Spurrier-Best works in the Science Centre at the Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), Cambridge Campus and is one of two students to be awarded the new Sedgwick studentship by the Cambridge Philosophical Society. Prior to joining ARU Lewis studied his Master of Research in Cancer Biology and Bachelor of Science in Human Biology at Sheffield Hallam University.
Lewis is studying for his PhD in Dr Havovi Chichger’s lab where his research focuses on identifying new therapeutic targets for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). ARDS is defined as the acute onset of non-cardiogenic pulmonary oedema, resulting in hypoxaemia. Up to 19% of all intensive care unit admissions worldwide are attributed to ARDS with a mortality rate of up to 40% in critical care patients. There is currently no treatment available for the vasculature permeability thought to be the underlying cause of hypoxemia in ARDS, mechanical ventilation is one of the main treatment options for the disease, however, mechanical ventilation does not treat the underlying cause and can cause further damage to the pulmonary vasculature.
Lewis’s research specifically focuses on how the bitter taste receptor T2R14, regulates the permeability of pulmonary vascular endothelium. T2R14 is a G-Protein Coupled Receptor (GPCR) that is usually located in the oral cavity where it functions as a bitter taste receptor, however, it has recently been demonstrated to be expressed in the lung microvasculature where it has been shown to have a functional role in settings of ARDS. Agonists to T2R14 such as noscapine have been shown to have a barrier disrupting effect in cases of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced barrier dysfunction while siRNA knockdown of T2R14 was shown to have a barrier protective effect. Lewis is expanding on this research to study the effects of T2R14 antagonists and their potential barrier protective effects with the ultimate goal of identifying new therapeutic targets to treat the underlying cause of ARDS.
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