Anna can Heeckeren D.V.M. BRTT Core Director

Senior Research Associate Pediatric Pulmonology BRTTAnimalCore @ case.edu Case School of Medicine 10900 Euclid Avenue Cleveland 216-844 0008 Phone Pediatric Pulmonology website van Heeckeren Biosketch

Anna M. van Heeckeren, DVM , MS has been involved in cystic fibrosis research for nearly 11 years.  She directed the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation funded Animal Core from 1997 to 2001, which quickly expanded to the NIH funded SCOR Animal Core from 1998 to 2003 and the NIH funded Pediatric Animal Core since 2001.  The Cores breed mice and distribute them or their cells or tissues for use primarily in cystic fibrosis research.  Places of distribution have included not only within Case Western Reserve University , but to over 13 other institutions within the US such as Copernicus Therapeutics, Yale University , Columbia University , and National Jewish, as well as to Canada , UK , and Italy .  Numerous mouse strains have been bred by the Animal Cores, including transgenic mice, mutant mice, mice with both a transgene and a mutation, mice with more than one mutation, and mice using the Tet-System and Cre-lox technologies.  Also, care is taken to ensure the genetic purity of each mouse line.  In addition, she refined the agarose bead model of chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection in mice and passed this technology to other investigators.  She has several publications using this model in wild type and cystic fibrosis mice to study the pathophysiology of the disease, as well as to test potential drug treatments for use in patients, some of which include contracts with companies.  Her research interests include investigating the role of cells involved in orchestrating the exaggerated lung inflammation as seen in cystic fibrosis patients.