Dr. Xingbin Ai is a basic scientist, Director of Basic Research at Newborn Medicine at Massachusetts General Brigham, and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ai’s research focuses on the communication between the nervous system, immune cells, and airway epithelium during lung development and how environmental insults in early life disrupt such communication to cause lung diseases. The three major areas of interest of Dr. Ai’s laboratory include: (1) understanding neural communication with CD4+ T cells as a critical regulatory mechanism in the development of asthma; (2) determining molecular mechanisms of age-related susceptibility to respiratory syncytial virus infection in infants; and (3) investigating pathogenesis of lung defects in newborns with congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Dr. Ai’s research employs a combination of patient’s lung samples, human primary cell lines, and animal models in close collaboration with physician scientists at Massachusetts General Brigham.

Dr. Ai is committed to services for the lung research community. Dr. Ai has served on multiple study sections for National Institute of Health, organized summer research conferences sponsored by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, and given many talks. Dr. Ai is a recipient of Dr. Robert Crapo Memorial Innovative Research Methodologies Award in recognition of her contribution to the American Thoracic Society. Dr. Ai is also a dedicated mentor for postdocs, medical fellows, and graduate students. All of the former trainees are moving forward along the career ladder, including 4 Assistant Professors in various academic institutions.