个人简介

B.S.E., University of Michigan, 1969; S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1971; Ph.D., 1973. Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering Science, Caltech, 1975-81; Associate Professor, 1981-84; Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, 1984-85; Professor, 1986-90; Professor of Chemical Engineering, 1990-2000; McCollum Professor of Chemical Engineering, 2000-03; McCollum Professor of Chemical Engineering and Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering, 2003-04; McCollum-Corcoran Professor of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Science and Engineering, 2004-. Acting Executive Officer for Chemical Engineering, 1996; Executive Officer, 1997; 2004-13.

研究领域

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Chemical Engineering

It has been generally believed that due to its relatively large size, pollen cannot reach the periphery of the lung, and thereby induce an asthmatic attack. We have recently discovered mechanisms, which explain how allergens housed in large pollen grains can trigger asthma. We have previously established that the pollen, produced during flowering in rye-grass, mostly remains on the open anthers in the absence of wind or other disturbances. If wetted, rye-grass pollen can rupture within minutes. Fragmented cytoplasm is emitted through the pore region of the pollen grain. Drying winds release this cytoplasmic debris directly from the flowers as a respirable allergen-loaded aerosol (see Taylor et al. 2002). The implications of this work are that pollen allergens can be contained in respirable aerosols after moist weather, and these aerosols might deposit into the lower airways where they would be a potent asthma trigger. Pollen grains rupture and the formation of an aerosol of allergen-laden debris of respirable size (less than 2.5 microns in diameter) is common to all the highly allergenic plants so far examined. The Flagan group is now developing methods to detect whole pollen and fungal spores, as well as pollen and fungal fragments, in the air. We seek to automatic the capture and analysis of these biological aerosols in as close to real-time as is possible. The tools we are currently utilizing include a range of aerosol particle capture equipment, such as high volume samplers (PM10 and PM 2.5), MOUDI samplers and a Burkard spore trap. Collected particles are then analyzed for allergens with immuno-blots, sandwich ELISA and MALDI TOF Mass Spectrometry. We are also interested in implementing the techniques of molecular biology (e.g. PCR), microscopy-assisted image capture and digital analysis to assist in examining these biogenic particles collected from the air.