Education and Training
Dr. Carley Stewart obtained her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Iowa, where her doctoral research focused on developing a dynamic PET-based assay to measure mucociliary transport (MCT) in the small airways of cystic fibrosis (CF) pig models. Her work also included statistical modeling of CF airway geometry in relation to MCT, as well as microfabrication of biosensors.
Following her Ph.D., Dr. Stewart joined the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology in Heidelberg, Germany, where she is currently leading a TLRC Junior Research Group “Multi-Modal Lung Imaging” focusing on imaging-based biomarker development in lung disease.
Expertise
Dr. Stewart’s research lies at the interface of engineering and translational imaging, with a particular focus on lung disease. She has expertise in functional imaging techniques—including PET, CT, and MRI—and their application to pulmonary disease mechanisms and treatment response. Her current work centers on the development of multi-modal imaging biomarkers for interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as well as predictive modeling to guide bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR).
- Development of imaging biomarkers
- Functional MRI in Interstitial Lung Disease
- Imaging-based lung mechanics and treatment optimization in COPD
- DPLD
- COPD
- Platform Imaging
1. Stewart, C. G., Hilkin, B. M., Gansemer, N. D., Adam, R. J., Dick, D. W., Sunderland, J. J., Stoltz, D. A., Zabner, J., & Abou Alaiwa, M. H. (2024). Mucociliary Clearance is Impaired in Small Airways of Cystic Fibrosis Pigs. American journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology, 10.1152/ajplung.00010.2024. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajplung.00010.2024
2. Ghimire, S., Stewart, C.G., Thurman, A.L., Pezzulo, A.A., 2021. Performance of a scalable RNA extraction-free transcriptome profiling method for adherent cultured human cells. Scientific Reports 11.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-98912-x
3. Ghimire, S., Stewart, C.G., Thurman, A.L., Pezzulo, A.A., 2021. Performance of a scalable extraction-free RNA-seq method. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.22.427817
4. Pezzulo, A.A., Tudas, R.A., Stewart, C.G., Buonfiglio, L.G.V., Lindsay, B.D., Taft, P.J., Gansemer, N.D., Zabner, J., 2019. HSP90 inhibitor geldanamycin reverts IL-13– and IL-17–induced airway goblet cell metaplasia. Journal of Clinical Investigation 129, 744–758. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci123524
Gökçe Aybeniz Sevim | Assistant physician | goekceaybeniz.sevim@med.uni-heidelberg.de |
Lung Research - Projects
1. Functional MRI in ILD
This project is a prospective clinical trial investigating the potential of functional MRI as a non-invasive imaging biomarker in interstitial lung disease (ILD). The study aims to assess functional MRI in differentiating ILD subtype and monitoring disease progression.
Collaboration: Thoraxklink Heidelberg and Kiel University
2. Imaging-based lung mechanics and treatment optimization in COPD
This work focuses on quantitative analysis of lung mechanics in COPD patients using CT imaging before and after bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR). To build on these insights, we integrate quantitative CT, SPECT, and clinical data to develop predictive models that identify the optimal target lobe for intervention. The goal is to improve treatment planning and support personalized approaches to BLVR through imaging-driven insights.
Collaboration: Thoraxklink Heidelberg
3. Interstitial Lung Abnormalities
We apply multi-modal imaging approaches to improve early detection and risk stratification of interstitial lung abnormalities. By integrating structural and functional imaging data, our goal is to better characterize early disease processes and identify patients at higher risk of progression.