Karen M Ridge

Karen M. Ridge, PhD is the Ernest S. Bazley Professor of Pulmonary Sciences and Professor of Medicine (Pulmonary and Critical Care) and Cell and Developmental Biology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She leads a research laboratory focused on the molecular mechanisms of lung injury and repair, with particular emphasis on the role of intermediate filaments in inflammatory responses and tissue recovery following viral pneumonia.

Dr. Ridge earned her PhD from the University of Illinois, Chicago in 1998. Her academic journey has positioned her as a leading researcher in pulmonary sciences, with appointments spanning both the Department of Medicine (Pulmonary and Critical Care) and the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology. She is actively involved in multiple research centers including the Center for Human Immunobiology, Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS), Simpson Querrey Institute for Epigenetics, and the Skin Biology and Diseases Resource-Based Center.

Dr. Ridge's primary research interest centers on intermediate filaments (IFs), cytoskeletal structures crucial for maintaining cellular and tissue integrity. Her laboratory specifically investigates the non-mechanical roles of the IF cytoskeleton, including how IFs regulate cell migration, cell survival, and serve as scaffolds for stress-activated kinases and adaptor proteins. Recent work has focused on vimentin, a type III intermediate filament, and its role as a scaffold for the assembly and activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Her team has demonstrated that optimal localization and activity of the inflammasome requires the vimentin IF network, suggesting a broad biological role for vimentin in regulating NLR proteins in the lung. Current research examines how vimentin modulates regulatory T cell receptor-ligand interactions and impacts recovery from viral pneumonia. Her work has been supported by a $14 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to study mechanisms promoting lung tissue repair in patients with severe viral pneumonia.

Analysis of Dr. Ridge's recent publications reveals a strong focus on viral pneumonia, particularly influenza and post-COVID complications, with emphasis on immune cell function, lung repair mechanisms, and the role of intermediate filaments. Her work bridges basic science and clinical applications, with several studies examining age-related differences in immune responses to respiratory infections. The research demonstrates how cytoskeletal proteins like vimentin and keratins regulate inflammatory pathways, macrophage function, and tissue repair following lung injury.

Dr. Ridge has received notable recognition for her work, including the Giles F. Filley Memorial Award for Excellence in Respiratory Physiology and Medicine from the American Physiological Society (2009). She serves as Deputy Editor for the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine and holds editorial board positions with several prestigious journals including American Journal of Physiology, American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, and The FASEB Journal. She co-chairs the Gordon Research Conference (since 2020) and serves on the American Thoracic Society Working Group on Aging (since 2017).

As a mentor, Dr. Ridge supervises multiple graduate students and research staff in her laboratory. Her team includes Research Professor Ruihua Ma, Physician Scientist Andrew Prigge, graduate students, and research technologists. She maintains extensive collaborations with both internal Northwestern colleagues such as Scott Budinger, Navdeep Chandel, and Alexander Misharin, and external researchers including John Eriksson at Åbo Akademi University and Paul Janmey at University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Ridge is an active member of several professional societies including the American Society for Cell Biology, Biomedical Engineering Society, American Thoracic Society, and American Physiological Society.

The Ridge Lab, housed at The Louis A Simpson and Kimberly K Querrey Biomedical Research Center, operates as a multidisciplinary research hub focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms driving repair and recovery from viral pneumonia. The lab's work has significant implications for treating acute lung injury, pulmonary fibrosis, and post-viral complications, particularly in vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly.