Louise Hecker, PhD joins the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine

The Department of Medicine is excited to announce that Louise Hecker, PhD has joined the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine as an associate professor of medicine (provisional). Hecker comes to Emory from the Department of Medicine at the University of Arizona.

Hecker’s research background and training are rooted in regenerative biology and investigating mechanisms of tissue injury-repair. Regenerative biology studies the molecular and cellular processes by which tissues and organs renew or repair themselves.  However, the normal healing and repair process becomes less efficient as we age. Her research is focused on understanding why this process “goes awry” in aging and identifying novel pathways that can be targeted to reverse age-associated diseases, such as Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

She is founder and chief scientific officer of Fibronox, LLC, a spin-out company that is developing small-molecule inhibitors targeting Nox4 for the treatment of fibrotic diseases.

Hecker has received many awards, including the Innovator of the Year Award from the Arizona Governor’s Celebration of Innovation, the Wick 40 Under 40 Award from Hartwick College, and the Science2Startup business pitch competition winner in Cambridge, MA.

Hecker has held previous roles at Binghamton University, University of Michigan Medical School, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs Health Care System, and the University of Arizona. She received her BA from Hartwick College, MA from Binghamton University, and her MS and PhD from the University of Michigan.

Please join us in welcoming Hecker to Emory and the Department of Medicine.