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Fariba Rezaee, MD, AAAP, ATSF

Chief, Division of Pulmonary and sleep medicine; Professor of Pediatrics

Specialties

Pulmonary medicine

Board Certifications

Pediatrics, Pediatric pulmonary medicine

Languages

Farsi

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Call (804) 828-CHOR (2467)

Locations

Children's Pavilion

1000 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219

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Richmond, VA 23219

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Areas of interest

Pediatric asthma
Chronic cough and recurrent respiratory symptoms
Cystic fibrosis
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia and chronic lung disease
Vaping, tobacco exposure, and smoking prevention/counseling
omplex pediatric pulmonary conditions

Bio

Dr. Rezaee joined CHoR in 2026 as chief of the Division Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine.

An accomplished physician-scientist, Dr. Rezaee’s clinical interests include pediatric asthma, chronic cough and recurrent respiratory symptoms, bronchopulmonary dysplasia and chronic lung disease, complex pediatric pulmonary conditions, and prevention and counseling related to vaping and tobacco exposure.

Her research focuses on airway epithelial barrier dysfunction and the effects of respiratory viruses and environmental exposures, including electronic cigarettes, on the developing lung. Her research has been supported by the NIH/NHLBI, including R01 and K08 awards, as well as other research funding supporting her investigations into respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-related airway injury and environmental exposures. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and has served on NIH study sections and grant review committees.

Dr. Rezaee is actively involved in the American Thoracic Society, including service on the Pediatric Assembly Program Committee, and serves on the editorial boards of several scientific journals. She is deeply committed to education and mentorship and has mentored medical students, residents, fellows and research trainees throughout her career.

She is a Fellow of the American Thoracic Society and has received numerous professional recognitions, including Cleveland Magazine Top Doctor, Castle Connolly Top Doctor and the Cleveland Clinic’s Tracy L. Hull, M.D., Mid-Career Professional Development Award.

Education

Medical School Isfahan University of Medical Sciences

Residency Rutgers Health/Newark Beth Israel Medical Center

Fellowship Golisano Children's Hospital-University of Rochester

Post doctorate fellowship West Virginia University School of Medicine

Research interests

Airway epithelial barrier dysfunction in pediatric lung disease;Health effects of e-cigarette and vaping exposure on the developing lung;Mechanisms of tobacco- and nicotine-related airway injury;Respiratory viral infections and airway epithelial responses;Airway inflammation, protease activity, and epithelial junctional integrity;Translational research in pediatric pulmonary disease

Publications

1. Chalom EC, Rezaee F, and Mendelson J. (2008) Pediatric patient with systemic lupus erythematosus & congenital acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: An unusual case and a review of the literature. Pediatr Rheumatol Online J. 6:7. PubMed PMID: 18452619; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2390549.
2. Nadali F, Pourmohammad F* (Rezaee). (2010) Evaluation of large granular lymphocyte and hand mirror cell in leukemia patients in Isfahan province during 1993-1998. Tarbiat Modares University, Pathobiology Research, mjms 2010; 9 :55-63, URL: http://mjms.modares.ac.ir/article-30-12025-en.html
3. Georas SN, Rezaee F, Lerner L, and Beck L. (2010) Dangerous allergens: why some allergens are bad actors. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 10(2):92-8. PubMed PMID: 20425500; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2862603.
4. Rezaee F, Rellick SL, Piedimonte G, Akers SM, O'Leary HA, Martin K, Craig MD, and Gibson LF. (2010) Neurotrophins regulate bone marrow stromal cell IL-6 expression through the MAPK pathway. PLoS One. 5 5(3):e9690. PubMed PMID: 20300619; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2837737.
5. Rezaee F, Gibson LF, Piktel D, Othumpangat S, and Piedimonte G. (2011) Respiratory syncytial virus infection in human bone marrow stromal cells. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 45(2):277-86. PubMed PMID: 20971883; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3175557.
6. Rezaee F, Meednu N, Emo JA, Saatian B, Chapman TJ, Naydenov NG, De Benedetto A, Beck LA, Ivanov AI, and Georas SN. (2011) Polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid induces protein kinase D-dependent disassembly of apical junctions and barrier dysfunction in airway epithelial cells. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 128(6):1216-1224.e11. PubMed PMID: 21996340; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3273326.Featured article, J All Clin Immunol PMCID: PMC3229749.
7. Emo J, Meednu N, Chapman TJ, Rezaee F, Balys M, Randall T, Rangasamy T, and Georas SN. (2012) Lpa2 is a negative regulator of both dendritic cell activation and murine models of allergic lung inflammation. J Immunol. 188(8):3784-90. PubMed PMID: 22427635; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3324594.
8. Saatian B, Rezaee F, Desando S, Emo J, Chapman T, Knowlden S, and Georas SN. (2013) Interleukin-4 and interleukin-13 cause barrier dysfunction in human airway epithelial cells. Tissue Barriers. 1(2):e24333. PubMed PMID: 24665390; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3875607.
9. *Rezaee F, DeSando SA, Ivanov AI, Chapman TJ, Knowlden SA, Beck LA, and Georas SN. (2013) Sustained protein kinase D activation mediates respiratory syncytial virus-induced airway barrier disruption. J Virol. 87(20):11088-95. PubMed PMID: 23926335; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3807305. *Corresponding author.
10. Chapman TJ, Emo JA, Knowlden SA, Rezaee F, and Georas SN. (2013) Pre-existing tolerance shapes the outcome of mucosal allergen sensitization in a murine model of asthma. J Immunol. 191(8):4423-30. PubMed PMID: 24038084; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3796001.
11. Rezaee F and Georas SN. (2014) Breaking barriers. New insights into airway epithelial barrier function in health and disease. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 50(5):857-69. PubMed PMID: 24467704; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4068951. Highlighted as “featured article” by the Journal
12. Knowlden SA, Capece T, Popovic M, Chapman TJ, Rezaee F, Kim M, and Georas SN. (2014) Regulation of T cell motility in vitro and in vivo by LPA and LPA2. PLoS One. 8 9(7):e101655. PubMed PMID: 25003200; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4086949.
13. Georas SN and Rezaee F. (2014) Epithelial Barrier Function: At the Frontline of Asthma Immunology and Allergic Airway Inflammation. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 134(3):509-20. PubMed PMID: 25085341; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4170838.
14. Rezaee, F. (2016) Airway Epithelial Barrier Dysfunction in Response to Respiratory Syncytial Virus: Readying the Research for Animal Model Replication. Pediatric Perspectives, 38-39.
15. Brown PM, Harford TJ, Agrawal V, Yen- Lieberman B, Rezaee F, Piedimonte G. (2017) Prenatal Exposure to Respiratory Syncytial Virus Alters Postnatal Immunity and Airway Smooth Muscle Contractility during Early-Life Reinfections. PLoS One. 12(2):e0168786. PubMed PMID: 28178290; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5298216.
16. *Rezaee F, Linfield LT, Harford TJ, Piedimonte G. (2017) Ongoing Developments in RSV Prophylaxis: A Clinician’s Analysis. Current opinion in virology. 24:70-78. Review. PubMed PMID: 28500974; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5541395. The figure was selected for the journal cover. *Corresponding author.
17. *Rezaee F, Harford TJ, Linfield LT, Midura RJ, Ivanov AI, Piedimonte G. (2017) cAMP-Dependent Activation of Protein Kinase A Attenuates Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Induced Human Airway Epithelial Barrier Disruption. PLoS One. 12(7):e0181876. PubMed PMID: 28759570; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5536269. *Corresponding author.
18. Marquardsen FA, Baldin F, Wunderer F, Al-Herz W, Mikhael R, Lefranc G, Baz Z, Rezaee F, Hanna R, Kfir-Erenfeld S, Stepensky P, Meyer B, Jauch A, Bigler MB, Burgener AV, Higgins R, Navarini AA, Church JA, Chou J, Geha R, Notarangelo LD, Hess C, Berger CT, Bloch DB, Recher M. (2017) Detection of Sp110 by flow-cytometry and application to screening patients for veno-occlusive disease with immunodeficiency. J Clin Immunol. 37(7):707-714. PubMed PMID: 28825155; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6069968.
19. Harford TJ, Rezaee F, Scheraga R, Olman M, Piedimonte G. (2018) Asthma predisposition and respiratory syncytial virus infection modulate transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 function in children's airways. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 141(1):414-416.e4. PubMed PMID: 28982576; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5758408.
20. Manti S, Harford TJ, *Rezaee F, Piedimonte G. (2018) High Mobility Group Box-1 Inhibition Protects Against Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection. Pediatric Research. 83(5):1049-1056. PubMed PMID: 29329282; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5959750. *Corresponding author.
21. Rahman MT, Ghosh C, Hossain M, Linfield D, Rezaee F, Janigro D, Marchi N, van Boxel-Dezaire AHH. (2018) IFN-γ, IL-17A, or zonulin rapidly increase the permeability of the blood-brain and small intestinal epithelial barriers: Relevance for neuro-inflammatory diseases. (2018) Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 507(1-4):274-279. PubMed PMID: 30449598.
22. Smallcombe CC. Linfield DT, Harford TJ, Bokun V, Piedimonte G, Ivanov AI, Rezaee F. (2019) Disruption of the Airway Epithelial Barrier in a Murine Model of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 316(2):L358-L368. PubMed PMID: 30489157; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6397347. Featured by Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. Twitter, 2018
23. Simpson SL, Grason S, Peterson JH, Moore JJ, Mhanna MJ, Perez MK, Rezaee F, Piedimonte G. (2019) Serum neurotrophins at birth correlate with respiratory and neurodevelopmental outcomes of premature infants. Pediatric Pulmonology. 54(3):303-312. PubMed PMID: 30575339; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7306099.
24. Bokun V, Moore JJ, Moore R, Smallcombe CC, Harford TJ, Rezaee F, Esper F, Piedimonte G (2019) Respiratory syncytial virus exhibits differential tropism for distinct human placental cell types with Hofbauer cells acting as a permissive reservoir for infection. PLoS One. 14(12):e0225767. PubMed PMID: 31790466; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6886783.
25. Corcoran A, Carl JC, Rezaee F. (2020) The Importance of Anti-Vaping vigilance-EVALI in Seven Adolescent Pediatric Patients in Northeast Ohio. Pediatric Pulmonology, 55(7):1719-1724. doi: 10.1002/ppul.24872. Epub 2020 Jun 3. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7384027.
26. Smallcombe CC, Harford T. J, Piedimonte G, Rezaee F. (2020) Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles Exaggerate Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Induced Airway Epithelial Barrier Dysfunction. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. PMID: 32640839, doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00104.2020. PubMed PMID: 32640839; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7518063. Featured by Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. Twitter, 2020
27. Manti S, Esper F, Alejandro-Rodriguez M, Leonardi S, Betta P, Cuppari C, Lanzafame A, Worley S, Salpietro C, Perez MK, Rezaee F, Piedimonte G. (2020) Respiratory Syncytial Virus Seropositivity at Birth is Associated with Adverse Neonatal Respiratory Outcomes. Pediatric Pulmonology, doi.org/10.1002/ppul.25001. PubMed PMID: 32741145; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7808412.
28. Rezaee, F. (2020) E-cigarette or Vaping Product Use-Associated Lung Injury in Adolescents, The importance of anti-vaping awareness. Perspectives in Pediatric Research & Innovations.
29. Linfield DT, Raduka A, Aghapour M, Rezaee F. (2021) Airway tight junction as Targets of viral infections. Tissue Barriers. Feb 26:1883965. doi: 10.1080/21688370.2021.1883965. Epub ahead of print. PubMed PMID: 33632074; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8078511. The figure was selected for the journal cover.
30. Harford TJ, Grove L, Rezaee F, Scheraga R, Olman MA, Piedimonte G. (2021) RSV infection potentiates TRPV1-mediated calcium transport in bronchial epithelium of asthmatic children. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2021 Jun 1;320(6):L1074-L1084. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00531.2020. Epub 2021 Mar 31. PubMed PMID: 33787326; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8285623.
31. Linfield DT, Gao N, Raduka A, Harford T. J, Piedimonte G, Rezaee F. (2021) Respiratory syncytial virus infection attenuates epithelial cell restitution by inhibiting actin cytoskeleton-dependent cell migration. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2021 May 19;. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00118.2021. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 34010080; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8321853. Featured by Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. Twitter, 2021
32. Harford TJ, Rezaee F, Gupta MK, Bokun V, Nega Prasad SV, Piedimonte G. (2021). Respiratory syncytial virus induces β2-adrenergic receptor dysfunction in airway smooth muscle cells. Science Signaling. 2021 Jun 1;14(685). doi: 10.1126/scisignal.abc1983. PubMed PMID: 34074703; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8486349.
33. Yousuf S, Cardenas S, Rezaee F. (2021) Pediatric Pneumothorax: Case Studies and Review of Current Literature. Respiratory Medicine Case Reports . 2021;34:101548. doi: 10.1016/j.rmcr.2021.101548. eCollection 2021. PubMed PMID: 34820257; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8602041.
34. Aghapour M, Ubags N, Bruder D, Hiemstra P, Sidhaye V, Rezaee F, Heijink IH. (2022) Role of air pollutants in airway epithelial barrier dysfunction in asthma and COPD. European Respiratory Review 2022 Mar 31;31(163). doi: 10.1183/16000617.0112-2021. Print 2022 Mar 31. Review. PubMed PMID: 35321933; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9128841.
35. Manti S, Leonardi S, Rezaee F, Harford TJ, Perez MK, Piedimonte G. (2022) Effects of Vertical Transmission of Respiratory Viruses to the Offspring. Front Immunol. 2022;13:853009. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8963917.
36. Harford TJ#, Rezaee F#*, Dye BR, Fan J, Spence JR, Piedimonte G. (2022) RSV-Induced Changes In A 3-Dimentional Organoid Model Of Human Fetal Lungs. PLoS One. 2022;17(3):e0265094. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265094. eCollection 2022. PubMed PMID: 35263387; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8906588. #Equal contributions. *Corresponding author.
37. Gao N, Raduka A, Rezaee F. (2022) RSV disrupts airway epithelial barrier by decreasing cortactin and destabilizing F-actin. Journal of Cell Science. 2022 Aug 15;135(16) PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9481929. My trainee, Dr. Gao was selected as the First Person, a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Journal of Cell Science
38. Gao N, Rezaee F. (2022) Airway Epithelial Cell Junctions as Targets for Pathogens and Antimicrobial Therapy. Pharmaceutics. 2022 Nov 27;14(12). doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics 14122619. PubMed PMID: 36559113; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9786141.
39. Gao N, Raduka A, Rezaee F. (2023) Vitamin D3 protects against respiratory syncytial virus-induced barrier dysfunction in airway epithelial cells via PKA signaling pathway. Eur J Cell Biol. 2023 Jun 22;102(3):151336. doi: 10.1016/j.ejcb.2023.151336. PMID: 37354621PMCID: PMC10773979
40. Raduka A, Gao N, Chatburn RL, Rezaee F. (2023) Electronic Cigarette Exposure Disrupts Airway Epithelial Barrier Function and Exacerbates Viral Infection. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00135.2023. PMID: 37698113 PMCID: PMC11068398. Featured by Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. Twitter, 2023
41. Lee CE, Raduka A, Gao N, Hussain A, Rezaee F. (2024) 8-Bromo-cAMP Attenuates Human Airway Epithelial Barrier Disruption Caused by Titanium Dioxide Fine And Nanoparticles. Tissue Barriers, doi: 10.1080/21688370.2023.2300579; PMID: 38166590 PMCID: PMC11583697
42. Lee CE, Rezaee F. (2024) Nanoparticles and Airway Epithelial Cells: Exploring the Impacts and Methodologies in Toxicity Assessment. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, doi.org/10.3390/ijms25147885, PubMed Central PMID: 39063127 PMCID: PMC11277209
43. Beaumont AL, Raduka A, Gao N, Lee CE, Chatburn RL, Rezaee F. (2025) The Impact of Electronic Cigarettes on Airway Epithelial Barrier Integrity in Preclinical Mouse Model. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2025 Apr 1;328(4):L564-L570. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00408.2024. Epub 2025 Mar 10. PubMed PMID: 40059636; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12147400.
44. Gandhi A, Lee CE, Beaumont AL, Ozeki SG, Parambil C, Bowler S, Rezaee F. (2025) The Respiratory Epithelium in the Era of Vaping: Insights from In Vitro, In Vivo, and Human Studies. Eur Respir Rev. 2025 Oct;34(178). doi: 10.1183/16000617.0256-2024. Print 2025 Oct. Review. PubMed PMID: 41297959; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12648270.
45. Liu S, Linetsky M, Cheng Y, Miyagi M, Zhu SC, Zeng H, Qin SHM, Sintic E, Koutures KM, Meneses A, Laniak OR, Paruchuri S, Teegala LR, Cui K, Rezaee F, Salomon RG. (2026) Radical-induced Lipid Oxidation Produces a Torrent of Leukotriene-like Agonists in Severe Asthma, The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2025.09.027
46. Bowler RP, Rezeae F. (2026) Puff or Pass? The Truth About Vaping, Marijuana, and Tobacco Safety, the journal of precision respiratory medicine, accepted for publication.
47. Beaumont AL, Ozeki SG, Lee CE, Chatburn RL, Bowler RP, Rezaee F. (2026) Electronic Cigarette Aerosols Disrupt Airway Barrier Function via MMP-dependent E-cadherin Cleavage: Findings from Cell Culture and Murine Models. Arch Toxicol. 2026 Jun 5;. doi: 10.1007/s00204-026-04456-2. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 42247188; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC13256248.

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