
Andreas Schwingshackl, MD, PhD
Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
About
Dr. Andreas Schwingshackl's MD and PhD training provides the ideal framework for his work as a clinician-scientist in the field of lung inflammation, injury and repair. Dr. Schwingshackl's current research focuses on the role of stretch-activated potassium channels in the development of ventilator-induced lung injury, including inflammatory mediator secretion, loss of epithelial barrier function and lung repair mechanisms. In 2009 he discovered the expression of stretch-activated, 2-pore domain potassium (K2P) channels in the lung epithelium and in the following years he demonstrated that the TREK subfamily of K2P channels plays a crucial role in the development of hyperoxia- and mechanical stretch-induced lung injury. To study these TREK channels, Dr. Schwingshackl's lab created several stable, TREK-1 deficient and TREK-1 overexpressing murine and human lung epithelial cells lines and they currently employ TREK-deficient mouse models, in conjunction with state-of the-art molecular, genetic, electrophysiological and imaging techniques, such as confocal immunofluorescence microscopy, electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). His work in this field has been recognized and supported by national and international funding agencies such as the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, the Austrian Hans and Blanca Moser Foundation, the University of Tennessee Children's Foundation Research Institute, the American Lung Association and the National Institutes for Health (K12, K08, and R01 awards). Currently, Dr. Schwingshackl contributes to the field of pulmonary medicine by serving as Associate Editor for Frontiers in Pediatric Critical Care, as a standing member of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Program Committee for Respiratory, Cell and Molecular Cell Biology and the American Heart Association (AHA) grant review panel (BSc Lung), and as an ad-hoc reviewer for more than 10 scientific journals. Recently, the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) has rewarded his research efforts in pulmonary medicine with the prestigious Dorothy & Robert Keyser Endowed Chair in Pediatrics.
Languages
Education
Medical Board Certifications
Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, American Board of Pediatrics, 2010
Pediatrics, American Board of Pediatrics, 2006
Fellowship
Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine, 2009
Residency
Pediatrics, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, 2006
Internship
Pediatrics, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, 2004
Degrees
PhD, University of Alberta, 2003
MD, University of Innsbruck, 1997
Recognitions
- Marie Louise Imrie Research Award, Austria, 2000
- Junior Researcher Award from "HGV Suedtirol", Italy, 2001
- 1st place at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) Research Day competition, 2008 See More
Hospital Affiliations
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center
UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital
Research
Publications
Recognitions
- Marie Louise Imrie Research Award, Austria, 2000
- Junior Researcher Award from "HGV Suedtirol", Italy, 2001
- 1st place at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) Research Day competition, 2008
- New Investigator Award, Le Bonheur Children's Foundation Research Institute, 2010-11
- Le Bonheur Children's Foundation Research Institute Bea Gerber Award, 2011
- Sole nominee of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center for the Pew Foundation Scholarship, 2012
- Le Bonheur Faculty Award for "Excellence in Research", 2013
- Dorothy & Robert Keyser Endowed Chair, Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 2018
- Le Bonheur Faculty Award for "Excellence in Research", 2013
- Nominee of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center for the Pew Foundation Scholarship, 2012
- Le Bonheur Children's Foundation Research Institute Bea Gerber Award, 2011
- First place at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) Research Day competition, 2008
- Junior Researcher Award from "HGV Suedtirol", Italy, 2001
- Travel Award from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology for their Annual Meeting in 2000 and 2001
- Marie Louise Imrie Research Award, Austria, 2000
- Second place at the University of Alberta, Department of Physiology Research Day Competition, Canada, 1999
- Representative of the University of Alberta for the Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR) Competition, Canada, 1999