Alexandra Noël
Associate Professor and Director of Inhalation Laboratory Louisiana State University
- Baton Rouge LA
Dr. Noël's research focuses on the production and characterization of aerosols, as well as inhalation and developmental toxicology.
Media
Biography
Areas of Expertise
Research Focus
Prenatal Vaping Exposure & Respiratory Toxicology
Dr. Noël’s research focuses on how prenatal exposure to vaping aerosols, engineered nanoparticles, and other airborne pollutants programs neonatal lungs for diseases such as allergic asthma. She pairs custom aerosol generation with inhalation toxicology, in-utero disease models, and epigenetic profiling to uncover pathways linking early exposure to lifelong respiratory risk.
Accomplishments
Award—Distinguished Scholar Award, Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine
2025
Dean’s Teacher Merit Honor Award, Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine
2025
Award—Young Investigator Award, SOT Inhalation and Respiratory Specialty Section (IRSS)
2024
Award—poster presentation, Stem Cells, Cell Therapies, and Bioengineering in Lung Biology and Diseases Conference
2023
Award—Early Career Achievement Award, American Thoracic Society (ATS), Environmental, Occupational and Population Health (EOPH) Assembly
2023
Dean’s Teacher Merit Honor Award, Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine
2022
Zoetis Award for Research Excellence, Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine
2022
Rising Faculty Research Award, Louisiana State University Alumni Association
2020
Award—David Bates Award for promising new investigators in the field of environmental, occupational and population health, ATS, EOPH Assembly
2020
Distinguished Scientific Presentation Award, Toxicologist of African Origin, Society of Toxicology (SOT)
2019
Scholar—NIH/NHLBI AGOLD PRIDE program (National Heart Lung Blood Institute, NHLBI)
2019
Education
Université de Montréal
Ph.D.
2013
Université de Montréal
M.Sc.
2007
Université de Montréal
B.S.
2003
Affiliations
- Society of Toxicology (SOT)
- American Thoracic Society (ATS)
Media Appearances
LSU researcher leads major study on effects of vaping
WAFB 9 tv
2020-03-03
“It’s only the tip of the iceberg. Doctors are just now seeing the harmful effects,” said Dr. Noël, assistant professor of comparative biomedical sciences at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. “It’s mostly young people and mostly men.”
LSU researcher pursues research into harmful effects of e-cigarette use, receives FDA funding
LSU Reveille online
2020-03-01
Alexandra Noël, a School of Veterinary Medicine assistant professor of comparative biomedical sciences, will engage in a multi-year research project funded by the FDA and National Institutes of Health to study the short- and long-term effects of e-cigarette use on the lungs.
“These deaths and illnesses are related to vaping, and it’s only the tip of the iceberg,” Noël said. “Doctors are just now seeing the harmful effects.”
Local LSU researcher helms FDA sponsored study into effects of vaping
WRBZ 2 online
2020-02-04
Dr. Alexandra Noël, an assistant professor of Comparative Biomedical Sciences at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, says, "People initially thought vaping was safer than cigarette smoking. We could see in the lab that it is not safe. Inhaling e-cigarette vapor is harmful."
Vaping, pregnancy, and lung disease risk: Dr. Noël leads NIH-funded research in a quest to improve public health
LSU online
2025-06-25
“When people vape, they are inhaling an aerosol (vapor) containing nicotine, chemicals and metals, including copper. We think it plays a role in immune responses and the development of asthma and are looking at how vaping impacts the respiratory health of offspring when exposed during gestation,” said Dr. Noël, associate professor of comparative biomedical sciences at LSU School of Veterinary Medicine and director of its Inhalation Research Facility.
Articles
MMP12 deficiency attenuates menthol e-cigarette plus house dust-mite effects on pulmonary iron homeostasis and oxidative stress
Respiratory Research2025
Little is known regarding the pulmonary effects induced by the inhalation of menthol-flavored e-cigarette aerosols on asthma exacerbation, despite the popularity of these devices and flavors among youth and young adults. In the lungs, matrix metalloproteinase 12 (MMP12) expressed and secreted by both alveolar macrophages and bronchial epithelial cells plays an essential role in airway remodeling, a key feature of severe asthma. In this study, we investigated the role of MMP12 in menthol-flavored e-cigarette aerosol exposures plus house-dust mite (HDM)-induced asthmatic responses.
AhR Activation at the Air-Blood Barrier Alters Systemic microRNA Release After Inhalation of Particulate Matter Containing Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals
Cardiovascular Toxicology2025
Particulate matter containing environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) is formed when organic pollutants are incompletely burned and adsorb to the surface of particles containing redox-active metals. Our prior studies showed that in mice, EPFR inhalation impaired vascular relaxation in a dose- and endothelium-dependent manner. We also observed that activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in the alveolar type-II (AT-II) cells that form the air-blood interface stimulates the release of systemic factors that promote endothelial dysfunction in vessels peripheral to the lung. AhR is a recognized regulator of microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis, and miRNA control diverse signaling pathways.
Precision Cut Lung Slices: Emerging Tools for Preclinical and Translational Lung Research. An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report
American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology2024
The urgent need for effective treatments for acute and chronic lung diseases underscores the significance of developing innovative preclinical human research tools. The 2023 ATS Workshop on Precision Cut Lung Slices (PCLS) brought together 35 experts to discuss and address the role of human tissue-derived PCLS as a unique tool for target and drug discovery and validation in pulmonary medicine. With increasing interest and usage, along with advancements in methods and technology, there is a growing need for consensus on PCLS methodology and readouts. The current document recommends standard reporting criteria and emphasizes the requirement for careful collection and integration of clinical metadata. We further discuss current clinically relevant readouts that can be applied to PCLS and highlight recent developments and future steps for implementing novel technologies for PCLS modeling and analysis. The collection and correlation of clinical metadata and multiomic analysis will further advent the integration of this preclinical platform into patient endotyping and the development of tailored therapies for lung disease patients.
Machine learning for automated classification of lung collagen in a urethane-induced lung injury mouse model
Biomedical Optics Express2024
Dysregulation of lung tissue collagen level plays a vital role in understanding how lung diseases progress. However, traditional scoring methods rely on manual histopathological examination introducing subjectivity and inconsistency into the assessment process. These methods are further hampered by inter-observer variability, lack of quantification, and their time-consuming nature. To mitigate these drawbacks, we propose a machine learning-driven framework for automated scoring of lung collagen content. Our study begins with the collection of a lung slide image dataset from adult female mice using second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy. In our proposed approach, first, we manually extracted features based on the 46 statistical parameters of fibrillar collagen. Subsequently, we pre-processed the images and utilized a pre-trained VGG16 model to uncover hidden features from pre-processed images. We then combined both image and statistical features to train various machine learning and deep neural network models for classification tasks. We employed advanced unsupervised techniques like K-means, principal component analysis (PCA), t-distributed stochastic neighbour embedding (t-SNE), and uniform manifold approximation and projection (UMAP) to conduct thorough image analysis for lung collagen content.
Toxicity of Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking: The Role of Flavors, Sweeteners, Humectants, and Charcoal
Toxicological Sciences2024
Waterpipe tobacco (WPT) smoking is a public health concern, particularly among youth and young adults. The global spread of WPT use has surged since the introduction of pre-packaged flavored and sweetened WPT, which is widely marketed as a safer tobacco alternative. Besides flavorants and sugars, WPT additives include humectants, which enhance the moisture and sweetness of WPT, act as solvents for flavors, and impart smoothness to the smoke, thus increasing appeal to users. In the United States (U.S.), unlike cigarette tobacco flavoring (with the exception of menthol), there is no FDA product standard or policy in place prohibiting sales of flavored WPT. Research has shown that the numerous fruit, candy, and alcohol flavors added to WPT entice individuals to experience those flavors, putting them at an increased risk of exposure to WPT smoke-related toxicants. Additionally, burning charcoal briquettes—used as a heating source for WPT—contributes to the harmful health effects of WPT smoking.
The E-cigarette or Vaping Product Use–Associated Lung Injury Epidemic: Pathogenesis, Management, and Future Directions: An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report
Annals of the American Thoracic Society2023
E-cigarette or vaping product use–associated lung injury (EVALI) is a severe pulmonary illness associated with the use of e-cigarettes or vaping products that was officially identified and named in 2019. This American Thoracic Society workshop was convened in 2021 to identify and prioritize research and regulatory needs to adequately respond to the EVALI outbreak and to prevent similar instances of disease associated with e-cigarette or vaping product use. An interdisciplinary group of 26 experts in adult and pediatric clinical care, public health, regulatory oversight, and toxicology were convened for the workshop. Four major topics were examined: 1) the public health and regulatory response to EVALI; 2) EVALI clinical care; 3) mechanisms contributing to EVALI; and 4) needed actions to address the health effects of EVALI.
Mmp12 Is Upregulated by in utero Second-Hand Smoke Exposures and Is a Key Factor Contributing to Aggravated Lung Responses in Adult Emphysema, Asthma, and Lung Cancer Mouse Models
Frontiers in Physiology2021
Matrix metalloproteinase-12 (Mmp12) is upregulated by cigarette smoke (CS) and plays a critical role in extracellular matrix remodeling, a key mechanism involved in physiological repair processes, and in the pathogenesis of emphysema, asthma, and lung cancer. While cigarette smoking is associated with the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) and lung cancer, in utero exposures to CS and second-hand smoke (SHS) are associated with asthma development in the offspring. SHS is an indoor air pollutant that causes known adverse health effects; however, the mechanisms by which in utero SHS exposures predispose to adult lung diseases, including COPD, asthma, and lung cancer, are poorly understood. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that in utero SHS exposure aggravates adult-induced emphysema, asthma, and lung cancer.
In utero exposures to electronic-cigarette aerosols impair the Wnt signaling during mouse lung development
American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology2020
Currently, more than 9 million American adults, including women of childbearing age, use electronic-cigarettes (e-cigs). Further, the prevalence of maternal vaping now approaching 10% is similar to that of maternal smoking. Little, however, is known about the effects of fetal exposures to nicotine-rich e-cig aerosols on lung development. In this study, we assessed whether in utero exposures to e-cig aerosols compromised lung development in mice. A third-generation e-cig device was used to expose pregnant BALB/c mice by inhalation to 36 mg/mL of nicotine cinnamon-flavored e-cig aerosols for 14–31 days. This included exposures for either 12 days before mating plus during gestation (preconception groups) or only during gestation (prenatal groups).
Sub-ohm vaping increases the levels of carbonyls, is cytotoxic, and alters gene expression in human bronchial epithelial cells exposed at the air–liquid interface
Respiratory Research2020
Background
Exposure to electronic-cigarette (e-cig) aerosols induces potentially fatal e-cig or vaping-associated lung injury (EVALI). The cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these effects, however, are unknown. We used an air–liquid interface (ALI) in vitro model to determine the influence of two design characteristics of third-generation tank-style e-cig devices—resistance and voltage—on (1) e-cig aerosol composition and (2) cellular toxicity.
Sex-specific lung functional changes in adult mice exposed only to second-hand smoke in utero
Respiratory Research2017
Background
An increasing number of epidemiological and experimental studies have associated exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) during pregnancy with adverse outcomes in newborns. As we have previously shown in mice, in utero exposure to SHS at critical stages of fetal development, results in altered lung responses and increased disease susceptibility upon re-exposure to irritants (SHS or ovalbumin) in adulthood. In this study, we asked whether the in utero SHS exposure alone is sufficient to alter lung structure and function in adult mice.
Research Grants
Impact of prenatal exposures to copper from electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) aerosols on the immature neonatal pulmonary immune system and IL-10-mediated asthmatic responses
NIH NHLBI 1R01HL176980
2025-2030
Leveraging social-behavior factors of pregnant women in Louisiana and in vivo models to study the impact of maternal vaping on birth outcomes and asthma in offspring
Our Lady of the Lake Health and Louisiana State University Collaboration In Action Program
2025-2026
ENDS aerosol particle deposition, in utero exposures and children's respiratory health effects (ENDURE) Consortium
NIH NIEHS 1R01ES035694-01 (ViCTER grant)
2025-2028
Center for Lung Biology and Diseases
NIH NIGMS P20 GM130555-06COBRE
2024-2029
Cardiopulmonary effects induced by electronic-cigarette and JUUL aerosols in both in vivo and in vitro models
NIH/NHLB
2020-2025
Effect of third-generation electronic-cigarette design features on aerosol constituents and pulmonary toxicity in vitro and in vivo - Focus on humectants and vitamin E acetate
NIH/NIEHS
2018-2020
LSU Superfund Research Program
NIH NIEHS
2017
