Dr. Rubenstein's research focuses on basic and translational studies of novel means to improve outcomes in cystic fibrosis. He initially focused on correcting the dysfunction of mutant cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) proteins, which led him to study how molecular chaperones regulate the biogenesis and trafficking of CFTR and other proteins that are relevant to cystic fibrosis.
Christoph Seiler, PhD, received a Foerderer Fund for Excellence award at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in 2015 to study this mechanism. German-born Dr. Seiler pointed out that “Foerderer,” in German, means supporter or sponsor. Its name is therefore apt, because the internal award program spurs research projects that need a bit of support to generate pilot data that can later help those projects stand out in the competitive awarding of external funds.
