Laboratory of Maurizio Cereda, MD
Email: mcereda@mgh.harvard.edu
Call: 617-643-0987
Overview
The Cereda Laboratory studies the mechanisms of acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a life-threatening condition caused by widespread pulmonary inflammation that carries mortality exceeding 40%. Our research uses advanced functional imaging, including computed tomography (CT) and electrical impedance tomography (EIT), to map how air and blood are distributed across regions of the injured lung. By linking regional imaging measurements to disease progression and treatment response, we aim to develop personalized, imaging-guided strategies for the management of critically ill patients with ARDS.
Research Projects
Imaging the Pulmonary Circulation in ARDS
Mechanical ventilation is essential for survival in ARDS, yet it can worsen lung injury. While airspace mechanics have been the traditional focus of ARDS research, the pulmonary circulation is equally disrupted, with profound misdistribution of blood flow that may drive injury progression. Regions of the lung with elevated perfusion may be at particular risk of capillary stress failure and worsening edema. Our lab uses dynamic contrast-enhanced CT and EIT to map regional lung perfusion in animal models and human patients with ARDS, testing whether treatments that redistribute pulmonary blood flow, including inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) and prone positioning, can protect the capillary barrier and attenuate lung injury.
Truncal Adiposity, Lung Mechanics, and Acute Respiratory Failure
Obesity affects more than 40% of the U.S. population and substantially increases the risk of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF). Excess truncal fat elevates pressure within the chest, compresses lung tissue, and may blunt the response to standard treatments such as prone positioning and PEEP titration. Using CT image analysis, including AI-based segmentation, alongside bedside tools including EIT and esophageal manometry, we are investigating how the magnitude and distribution of truncal adiposity governs lung collapse and injury severity in AHRF. This work aims to identify imaging and physiologic markers that can guide individualized treatment decisions for patients with obesity in the ICU.
Research Team
Maurizio Cereda, MD
Associate Professor of Anaesthesia, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
Dr. Cereda is an anesthesiologist, intensivist, and NIH R01-funded independent investigator. His research focuses on understanding the mechanisms of acute lung injury and ARDS using advanced imaging tools to characterize regional lung ventilation and perfusion.
Yi Xin, PhD
Assistant Professor of Anaesthesia, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
Dr. Xin is a biomedical engineer whose research focuses on developing functional imaging techniques to visualize the progression of acute lung injury. He has developed CT and hyperpolarized MRI methods to assess regional lung responses to ARDS treatments. His current work applies deep generative models and artificial intelligence to CT imaging, with the goal of predicting lung injury progression and individual treatment responses to enable personalized ARDS care.
Lorenzo Berra, MD
Associate Professor of Anaesthesia, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
Dr. Berra is a critical care physician and researcher who has led clinical investigations of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) at MGH for over a decade. His work spans the use of iNO as a selective pulmonary vasodilator in acute respiratory failure, pulmonary hypertension, and cardiac surgery, as well as pioneering studies on high-dose iNO as an antimicrobial therapy.
Fumito Ichinose, MD, PhD
Professor of Anaesthesia, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
Dr. Ichinose is a cardiac anesthesiologist and NIH R01-funded independent investigator. He is the director of the Anesthesia Center for Critical Care Research. His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying cardio-cerebral dysfunction in critical illness, including sepsis, cardiac arrest, and neurodegenerative disorders. His work characterizes the biological effects of nitric oxide and hydrogen sulfide in cellular function and investigates the role of sedation in post-cardiac arrest neurological recovery, with the goal of developing novel therapeutic strategies for critically ill patients.
Timothy (Tim) Gaulton, MD, MSc
Assistant Professor of Anaesthesia, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
Dr. Gaulton is a critical care anesthesiologist and epidemiologist. His research examines how metabolic disease interacts with critical illness using functional imaging, biomarkers, and clinical epidemiology.\