Associate Professor, Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh Director, Inhalation Exposure Facility, University of Pittsburgh;
Chair, Chemical Hygiene Safety Committee, University of Pittsburgh

Research Interests : Acute Lung Injury, Asthma, COPD, Antimicrobial Resistance, Lung Cancer, Pulmonary Fibrosis, Novel Antimicrobials, Respiratory Infection, Sepsis

My laboratory is interested in investigating effects of environmental stressors, such as toxic chemicals and microorganisms, on host response and pulmonary diseases. Our current research is mainly focused on three research areas.

1. To elucidate the drug resistance mechanisms that multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria utilize to escape from antibiotic treatment. We also work on the development of patented novel antimicrobials for overcoming MDR bacterial infection.

2. To understand the pathogenesis of and to identify biomarkers for severe asthma. I am a PI in the severe asthma research program (SARP), which includes eight academic and clinical centers that treat patients participate in a longitudinal study cohort of ~700 individuals.

3. To investigate the association between inflammation and lung cancer, and to determine the effects of an inflammatory tumor microenvironment on lung tumorigenesis and immunotherapy efficacy.

website: http://www.pitt.edu/~peterdi/
website: https://www.publichealth.pitt.edu/home/directory/yuanpu-di