Dr. Aaron Trimble ’07 to speak about his cystic fibrosis research

Dr. Aaron Trimble ’07, a research fellow in pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, presents a Suter Science Seminar on “Sticky Situations: Mucus Clearance in Cystic Fibrosis.” His presentation will be Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 4 p.m. in the Suter Science Center, Room 106, at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU).

Trimble came to EMU from Eagle River, Alaska. He earned degrees in mathematics and biochemistry before going to medical school at the University of Virginia, where he completed his internship and residency in internal medicine.

Professor Emeritus Roman Miller, who mentored many students into medical school, says Trimble was an exemplary student with a strong work ethic, creativity and an inquisitive mind.

“I remember Aaron asking insightful questions in physiology that forced this professor to say, ‘I don’t know the answer but I’ll look that up and get back to you,’” Miller said. “He was greatly appreciated and admired by his classmates for his empathy and willingness to help others with academic work.”

That “questioning mind” led Trimble in 2014 to University of North Carolina to continue research into cystic fibrosis. This genetic disease predominantly affects the lungs and is the leading inherited cause of death in the United States. The hallmark of the disease is thick, dehydrated mucus which cannot be properly cleared, leading to chronic airway infection, inflammation and ultimately destruction. This seminar will discuss measurement of mucus clearance, and experiments his lab has performed testing various interventions in cystic fibrosis using this outcome measure.

The Suter Science Seminar series continues Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 4 p.m. with Dr. Jennifer Bryant, associate professor of biopharmaceutical sciences at Shenandoah University. She will speak about cardiac remodeling and collagen VI.