Positions

Overview

  • Dr. C. Vivek Lal, M.D. is a physician, scientist, innovator and entrepreneur who serves as the Director of Clinical Innovation at Heersink Institute of Biomedical Innovation at UAB. Dr. Lal is an Associate Professor of Neonatology, in the Department of Pediatrics and the Founder and President of UAB startup companies, Alveolus Bio, Inc. & ResBiotic Nutrition, Inc.

    Dr. Lal completed his fellowship in Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine at University of Texas at Southwestern after residency in Pediatrics from University of S Alabama. He later completed executive program in drug and device development from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He had formal training in leadership - formal organizational leadership training at the UAB Blaze Academy and completed the American Academy of Pediatrics Young Physician Leadership Alliance program.

    Dr. Lal won the 2022 Alabama Inno Fire Award given out by the Birmingham Business Journal. In 2022 he was named as a recipient of the 2022 CEO Awards and recently named as a Person to Watch in 2023 by the Birmingham Business Journal

    He is an inventor on several patents. Based on his intellectual properties and entrepreneurship experience, Dr. Lal has founded UAB startups ResBiotic and Alveolus Bio for development of consumer products and FDA approved therapeutics, respectively, for Chronic Lung Diseases. Dr. Lal raised private equity funding to launch these ventures. He was recently appointed to the Boards of Bio Alabama, the leading Biotech advocacy organization in Alabama, and to Microbiome Therapeutics Innovation Group, the Washington DC based national advocacy group for FDA approved microbiome therapeutics. Dr. Lal also serves as the Chairman of the Board for Urgent Care for Children, the second largest pediatric urgent care chain in the US.

    Dr. Lal also serves as the Director of the Pulmonary Microbiome Lab at UAB and the Chair of the Scholarly Oversight Committee. Dr. Lal studies the basic mechanisms for the development of chronic lung diseases. He made the important discovery that newborn airways have a microbiome, even at birth, and a dysbiosis in this airway microbiome is associated with development of severe chronic lung illnesses. Dr. Lal has received multiple awards, including the AAP Young Investigator, the Perinatal Research Society Young Investigator, the Neonatal Cardiopulmonary Forum Young Investigator, Southern Society of Pediatric Research (SSPR) Young Investigator Award, SSPR Abbott Research Award in Nutrition, and the SSPR Young Faculty Award. In 2019, Dr. Lal received the Department of Pediatrics Research Achievement Award and the Department of Pediatrics Excellence in Teaching Award in 2016 and 2021. He has served as an active member at SSPR since council member at SSPR since 2019. Dr. Lal’s Pulmonary Microbiome Lab at UAB is funded by a NHLBI and AHA to evaluate the role of the neonatal airway microbiome in the development of BPD and adult lung diseases. His lab’s funding includes AHA SDG, NHLBI K08, R01, R21 and other funding.

    On the clinical front, Dr. Lal developed and directs the Golden Week Small Baby Program at UAB Regional NICU. The Golden Week Program brought national recognition via the 2017 Gage Award, a competitive selection by America’s Essential Hospitals for significant quality improvement initiatives.
  • Selected Publications

    Academic Article

    Year Title Altmetric
    2023 Microbial-induced Redox Imbalance in the Neonatal Lung Is Ameliorated by Live BiotherapeuticsAmerican Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology.  68:267-278. 2023
    2023 Trends in fetal and neonatal outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in AlabamaPediatric Research2023
    2022 Efficacy of a Probiotic and Herbal Supplement in Models of Lung InflammationMicroorganisms.  10. 2022
    2022 The gut microbiome of extremely preterm infants randomized to the early progression of enteral feedingPediatric Research.  92:799-804. 2022
    2022 Hospital and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Nano-Preterm Infants Receiving Invasive vs Noninvasive Ventilation at BirthJAMA Network Open.  5:e2229105. 2022
    2022 Correction: Duration of noninvasive respiratory support and risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia or death (Journal of Perinatology, (2022), 42, 4, (454-460), 10.1038/s41372-021-01269-2)Journal of Perinatology.  42:550. 2022
    2022 Duration of noninvasive respiratory support and risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia or deathJournal of Perinatology.  42:454-460. 2022
    2022 A Quality Improvement Bundle to Improve Outcomes in Extremely Preterm Infants in the First WeekPediatrics.  149. 2022
    2021 MicroRNA 219-5p inhibits alveolarization by reducing platelet derived growth factor receptor-alphaRespiratory Research.  22. 2021
    2021 Toll-like receptors: Shapers of the pulmonary microbiome? 2021
    2021 Prolyl endopeptidase contributes to early neutrophilic inflammation in acute myocardial transplant rejectionJCI Insight.  6. 2021
    2021 Neutrophilic inflammation during lung development disrupts elastin assembly and predisposes adult mice to COPDJournal of Clinical Investigation.  131. 2021
    2021 Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is associated with reduced oral nitrate reductase activity in extremely preterm infantsRedox Biology.  38. 2021
    2020 The closed eye harbours a unique microbiome in dry eye diseaseScientific Reports.  10. 2020
    2020 Airway nitrite is increased in extremely preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasiaRespiratory Research.  21. 2020
    2020 Reply to de Steenhuijsen Piters and BogaertAmerican Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.  201:1311-1312. 2020
    2020 Human Fetal Lungs Harbor a Microbiome SignatureAmerican Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.  201:1002-1006. 2020
    2020 Predicting BPD: Lessons Learned From the Airway Microbiome of Preterm InfantsFrontiers in Pediatrics.  7. 2020
    2020 Effects of hyperoxia on alveolar and pulmonary vascular development in germ-free mice 2020
    2020 Maternal antibiotics augment hyperoxia-induced lung injury in neonatal mice 2020
    2020 The closed eye harbors a unique microbiome in dry eye disease 2020
    2019 Activated PMN Exosomes: Pathogenic Entities Causing Matrix Destruction and Disease in the LungCell.  176:113-126.e15. 2019
    2019 Airway Microbiome and Development of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia in Preterm Infants: A Systematic ReviewJournal of Pediatrics.  204:126-133.e2. 2019
    2019 Integrating multiomics longitudinal data to reconstruct networks underlying lung development 2019
    2018 Supraphysiological Levels of Oxygen Exposure During the Neonatal Period Impairs Signaling Pathways Required for Learning and MemoryScientific Reports.  8. 2018
    2018 Early airway microbial metagenomic and metabolomic signatures are associated with development of severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia 2018
    2018 Genomics, microbiomics, proteomics, and metabolomics in bronchopulmonary dysplasiaSeminars in Perinatology.  42:425-431. 2018
    2018 Mechanisms of ventilator-induced lung injury: Is the elafin in the room?American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology.  59:531-532. 2018
    2018 The neutrophil chemoattractant peptide proline-glycine-proline is associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome 2018
    2018 The neutrophil chemoattractant peptide proline-glycine-proline is associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome. 2018
    2018 Iloprost attenuates hyperoxia-mediated impairment of lung development in newborn mice 2018
    2018 Transfusion-associated necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants: An updated meta-analysis of observational data 2018
    2018 Exosomal microRNA predicts and protects against severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia in extremely premature infantsJCI Insight.  3. 2018
    2018 Early progressive feeding in extremely preterm infants: A randomized trialAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  107:365-370. 2018
    2018 MicroRNA-145 antagonism reverses TGF-b inhibition of F508del CFTR correction in airway EpitheliaAmerican Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.  197:632-643. 2018
    2018 Early-Onset Neonatal Sepsis with Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase Producing Escherichia Coli in Infants Born to South and South East Asian Immigrants: A Case SeriesAmerican Journal of Perinatology Reports.  8:e277-e279. 2018
    2017 Impact of the Neonatal Resuscitation Program–Recommended Low Oxygen Strategy on Outcomes of Infants Born PretermJournal of Pediatrics.  191:35-41. 2017
    2017 Cellular and humoral biomarkers of Bronchopulmonary DysplasiaEarly Human Development.  105:35-39. 2017
    2017 Ureaplasma infection-mediated release of matrix metalloproteinase-9 and PGP: A novel mechanism of preterm rupture of membranes and chorioamnionitisPediatric Research.  81:75-79. 2017
    2016 Endothelial monocyte-activating polypeptide II mediates macrophage migration in the development of hyperoxia-induced lung disease of prematurityAmerican Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology.  55:602-612. 2016
    2016 The Airway Microbiome at BirthScientific Reports.  6. 2016
    2016 Regulation of alveolar septation by microRNA-489 2016
    2015 Biomarkers, Early Diagnosis, and Clinical Predictors of Bronchopulmonary DysplasiaClinics in Perinatology.  42:739-754. 2015
    2015 Genetic predisposition to bronchopulmonary dysplasiaSeminars in Perinatology.  39:584-591. 2015
    2015 Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC): A Devastating Disease of PrematurityJournal of neonatal biology.  2015. 2015
    2014 Hypomagnesemia secondary to cerebrospinal fluid losses in a patient with congenital hydrocephalusJournal of Perinatology.  34:640-641. 2014
    2014 Vascular mediators in chronic lung disease of infancy: Role of endothelial monocyte activating polypeptide II (EMAP II)Birth Defects Research Part A: Clinical and Molecular Teratology.  100:180-188. 2014
    2013 Ephrin-B2 reverse signaling increases α5β1 integrin-mediated fibronectin deposition and reduces distal lung complianceAmerican Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology.  49:680-687. 2013
    2012 Cerebellar hemorrhage: A major morbidity in extremely preterm infantsJournal of Perinatology.  32:699-704. 2012

    Chapter

    Year Title Altmetric
    2020 miRs – Mere hype or master regulators in the therapy of BPD?.  193-205. 2020
    2016 Pulmonary Hypertension in Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia.  259-279. 2016

    Education And Training

  • University of South Alabama, Internship
  • University of South Alabama, Residency
  • University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Postdoctoral Fellowship
  • Doctor of Medicine, 2007
  • Full Name

  • Charitharth Lal