Laszlo Farkas, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine

Farkas_Laszlo_460x460Davis Heart & Lung Research Institute
473 W 12th Avenue
Columbus, OH, 43210

Biography

Born in Budapest/Hungary, Dr. Farkas obtained his education including Medical School and Doctoral Thesis in Regensburg, Germany. After focusing on clinical training in Internal Medicine at the University Hospital of the University of Regensburg, Dr. Farkas joined Dr. Martin Kolb at McMaster University for postdoctoral research training in lung tissue and vascular injury. After a short training period at Virginia Commonwealth University, Dr. Farkas joined the Faculty in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine to establish his pulmonary vascular disease laboratory. In 2019, Dr. Farkas relocated to The Ohio State University to expand his research program.

Education and Training

  • Postdoctoral Research: Virginia Commonwealth University, McMaster University/Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health
  • Residency training: University Hospital, University of Regensburg, Department of Internal Medicine II
  • MD: Medical School and Doctoral Thesis (MD/PhD equivalent education) - University of Regensburg

Previous Appointments

  • : Instructor of Medicine and Assistant Professor of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Assistant Professor of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Instructor of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University

Honors and Awards

  • Faculty Travel Award, Department of Internal Medicine, VCU 2013, 2015
  • First recipient of the "Sir John Vane Award for Innovation in Pulmonary Vascular Research 2010 related to Pulmonary Hypertension" at the European Respiratory Society Conference, Barcelona, Spain
  • "Young Scientist Cell and Molecular Biology Travel Award" at the 2008
  • European Respiratory Society conference, Berlin, Germany
  • Poster Award, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Father Sean O’Sullivan Research Center Research Day, Hamilton, ON, Canada 2008
  • German Academic Society for Foreign Countries (DAAD) Scholarship for participation in Canadian Senior Medical Student Elective Program 2002

Research Interests

My research interest is the pathobiology of pulmonary vascular diseases, particular class I and class III pulmonary hypertension. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have also started to explore lung tissue and lung vascular remodeling, as well as endothelial dysfunction due to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The focus in my lab is on innate immunity signaling, inflammation, endosomal trafficking and degradation, and endothelial progenitor cell biology. The goal of the translational research program is to develop novel therapies for pulmonary vascular disease based on new targets that we identify in our work.

Current Research

One particular emphasis is on dysregulated recognition of ribonucleic acids and Toll-like receptor 3 signaling in the pulmonary endothelium, as well as the role of primitive endothelial cell clones in the pulmonary vasculature and in pulmonary hypertension. In addition, we are interested in vascular regeneration in the lung tissue. A further goal is to understand how endosomal trafficking and degradation are necessary to maintain pulmonary vascular health.

Active Funding

R01HL139881 - Endothelial Toll-like Receptor 3 in the Pathogenesis and Therapy of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Relevant Publications

  1. Rosas Mejia, O., Gloag, E., Li, J., Ruane-Foster, M., Claeys, T., Farkas, D., Farkas, L., Xin, G., Robinson, R. Mice infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis are resistant to secondary infection with SARS-CoV-2. (2022) PLoS Pathog. 18(3):e1010093. PubMed PMID: 35325013; PMCID: PMC8946739.
  2. Bhagwani, A.R.*, Farkas, D.*, Harmon, B., Authelet, K.J., Hultman, S.S., Cool, C.D., Kolb, M.R.J., Goncharova, E.A., Yoder, M.C., Clauss, M., Freishtat, R., Farkas, L. Clonally selected primitive endothelial cells promote occlusive pulmonary arteriopathy and severe pulmonary hypertension in rats exposed to chronic hypoxia. (2020) Sci Rep 10(1) 1136. PMID: 31980720 PMCID: PMC6981224.
  3. Farkas, D.*, Thompson, A.A.R.*, Bhagwani, A.R., Hultman, S., Ji, H., Kotha, N., Farr, G., Arnold, N.D., Braithwaite, A., Casbolt, H., Cole, J.E., Sabroe, I., Monaco, C., Cool, C.D., Goncharova, E.A., Lawrie, A., Farkas, L. Toll-like receptor 3 is a therapeutic target for Pulmonary Hypertension. (2019) Am J Respir Crit Care Med 199(2):199-210. PMID: 30211629 PMCID: PMC6353001.
  4. Grinnan, D., Farkas, L. A novel peptide for immunomodulation in pulmonary arterial hypertension. (2019) Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2019; doi: 10.1164/rccm.201902-0388ED. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 30973752
  5. Farkas, L. Kolb MRJ. A switch in TGF-β signaling explains contradictory findings in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. (2018) Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2018;197(2):157-159. PMID: 29096067
  6. Farkas, D.*, Alhussaini, A.A.*, Kraskauskas, D., Kraskauskiene, V., Cool, C.D., Nicolls, M.R., Natarajan, R., Farkas, L. NF-κB inhibition reduces lung vascular lumen obliteration in severe pulmonary hypertension in rats. (2014) Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 51(3):413-25. Pubmed PMID: 24684441. Pubmed Central PMCID: PMC4189489.
  7. Nold-Petry, C.A., Rudloff, I., Baumer, Y., Cho, S.X., Zepp, J.A., Dinkel, H., Palmer, B.E., Azam, T., Ruvo, M., Marasco, D., Botti, P., Farkas, L., Boisvert, W.A., Cool, C.D., Kim, S.H., Taraseviciene-Stewart, L., Dinarello, C., Voelkel, N.F., Nold, M.F. IL- 32 Promotes Angiogenesis. (2014) J Immunol 192(2): 589-602. Pubmed PMID: 24337385.
  8. Al Husseini, A., Bagnato, G., Farkas, L., Gomez-Arroyo, J., Farkas, D., Mizuno, S., Kraskauskas, D., Abbate, A., Van Tassel, B., Voelkel, N.F., Bogaard, H.J. Thyroid hormone is highly permissive for angioproliferation in pulmonary arterial hypertension. (2013) Eur Respir J 41(1):104-14. Pubmed PMID: 22835607.
  9. Tian, W., Jian, X., Tamosiuniene, R., Sung, Y.K., Qian, J., Dhillon, G., Gera, L., Farkas, L., Rabinovitch, M., Zamanian, R., Inayathullah, M., Fridlib, M., Rajadas, J., Peters-Golden, M., Voelkel, N.F., Nicolls, M.R. Blocking macrophage leukotriene B4 prevents endothelial injury and reverses pulmonary hypertension. (2013) Sci Transl Med 5: 200ra117. Pubmed PMID: 23986401.
  10. Mizuno, S., Farkas, L., Alhussaini, A., Farkas, D., Gomez-Arroyo, J., Kraskauskas, D., Nicolls, M., Cool, C., Bogaard, H., Voelkel, N. Severe Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Induced by SU5416 and Ovalbumin Immunization. (2012) Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 47(5):679-87. Pubmed PMID: 22842496.
  11. Farkas, L., Gauldie, J., Voelkel, N.F., Kolb, M. Pulmonary Hypertension in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: A tale of angiogenesis, endothelial apoptosis and growth factors. (2011) Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 45: 1-15. Pubmed PMID: 21057104.
  12. Farkas, L., Farkas, D., Gauldie, J., Warburton, D., Shi, W., Kolb, M. Transient overexpression of Gremlin results in epithelial activation and reversible fibrosis in rat lungs. (2011) Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol, 44: 870-878. Pubmed PMID: 20705941; Pubmed Central PMCID: PMC3135847.
  13. Moeller, A., Gilpin, S.E., Ask, K., Cox, G., Cook, D.J., Gauldie, J., Margetts, P.J., Farkas, L., Dobranowski, J., Boylan, C., O'Byrne, P.M., Strieter, R.M., Kolb, M.R.J. Circulating Fibrocytes Are an Indicator for Poor Prognosis in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. (2009) Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 179(7): 588-594. Pubmed PMID: 19151190.
  14. Farkas, L., Farkas, D., Ask, K., Möller, A., Gauldie, J., Margetts, P., Inman, M., Kolb, M.. VEGF ameliorates pulmonary hypertension through inhibition of endothelial apoptosis in experimental lung fibrosis in rats. (2009) J Clin Invest, 119(5): 1298- 1311. Pubmed PMID: 19381013; Pubmed Central PMCID: PMC2673845.

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