Brenda Juan Guardela, MD

Assistant Professor, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep

Medical Director of Respiratory Care, Tampa General Hospital

Ubben Center for Pulmonary Fibrosis Research

Contact Info

• 17 Davis Blvd
  Tampa FL 33606
• Academic Email: brendajuan@usf.edu

Education

Biography

Dr. Brenda Juan Guardela is a pulmonary and critical care physician with a strong background and research interest in genomics, translational research, and precision medicine. Her clinical experience caring for patients with chronic lung diseases has deepened her commitment to advancing precision medicine, with the goal of tailoring therapies to specific patient subgroups or phenotypes. As Medical Director of TGH Respiratory Care Services, Dr. Juan Guardela ensures the quality and safety of respiratory care by overseeing the Pulmonary Diagnostics and Blood Gas Laboratory, developing and implementing evidence-based policies, ensuring regulatory compliance, and fostering collaboration with multidisciplinary healthcare teams to improve patient outcomes. Her academic and clinical work align around the mission of translating molecular discoveries into meaningful advances in the diagnosis and management of complex pulmonary diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Research Interests

• Dr. Juan Guardela's research focuses on the genomics of acute lung injury and aberrant chronic lung repair. Her research group was the first to demonstrate a 50-gene peripheral blood signature that distinguishes severe from mild COVID-19 cases and predicts individuals at higher risk of mortality. This work also uncovered a shared adaptive immune response between IPF and COVID-19, highlighting important biological connections between these conditions. Her work has contributed to understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms driving lung fibrosis and inflammation. She has coauthored 22 original manuscripts and holds a Google Scholar h-index of 19. In addition to her translational research, Dr. Juan Guardela conducts clinical trials in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), contributing to the development of novel therapies and improving patient outcomes.

Recent Publications

• Juan Guardela, Brenda M.|Sun, Jiehuan|Zhang, Tong|Xu, Bing|Balnis, Joseph|Huang, Yong|Ma, Shwu-Fan|Molyneaux, Philip L.|Maher, Toby M.|Noth, Imre|Michaud, Gaetane|Jaitovich, Ariel|Herazo-Maya, Jose D. 50-gene risk profiles in peripheral blood predict COVID-19 outcomes: A retrospective, multicenter cohort study EBioMedicine [23523964]. 69, 2021.
• Juan-Guardela, Brenda M.|Herazo-Maya, Jose D. Immunity, Ciliated Epithelium, and Mortality Chest [00123692]. 161(6) , 2022.
• Tourki, Bochra|Jia, Minxue|Karampitsakos, Theodoros|Vera, Iset M.|Arsenault, Alyssa|Fatima, Zainab|Perrot, Carole Y.|Allen, Dylan|Farsaei, Forouzandeh|Rutenberg, David|Bandyopadhyay, Debabrata|Restrepo-Jaramillo, Ricardo|Qureshi, Muhammad R.|Patel, Kapilkumar|Tzouvelekis, Argyris|Kapetanaki, Maria G.|Juan-Guardela, Brenda M.|Kim, Kami|Benos, Panayiotis V.|Herazo-Maya, Jose D. Convergent and divergent immune aberrations in COVID-19, post-COVID-19-interstitial lung disease, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis American Journal of Physiology - Cell Physiology [03636143]. 328(1) , 2025.
• Karampitsakos, Theodoros|Juan-Guardela, Brenda M.|Tzouvelekis, Argyris|Herazo-Maya, Jose D. Precision medicine advances in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis EBioMedicine [23523964]. 95, 2023.
• Karampitsakos, Theodoros|Galaris, Apostolos|Chrysikos, Serafeim|Papaioannou, Ourania|Vamvakaris, Ioannis|Barbayianni, Ilianna|Kanellopoulou, Paraskevi|Grammenoudi, Sofia|Anagnostopoulos, Nektarios|Stratakos, Grigoris|Katsaras, Matthaios|Sampsonas, Fotios|Dimakou, Katerina|Manali, Effrosyni D.|Papiris, Spyridon|Tourki, Bochra|Juan-Guardela, Brenda M|Bakakos, Petros|Bouros, Demosthenes|Herazo-Maya, Jose D|Aidinis, Vassilis|Tzouvelekis, Argyris Expression of PD-1/PD-L1 axis in mediastinal lymph nodes and lung tissue of human and experimental lung fibrosis indicates a potential therapeutic target for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis Respiratory Research [14659921]. 24(1) , 2023.
• Pavel, Ana B.|Garrison, Carly|Luo, Lingqi|Liu, Gang|Taub, Daniel|Xiao, Ji|Juan-Guardela, Brenda|Tedrow, John|Alekseyev, Yuriy O.|Yang, Ivana V.|Geraci, Mark W.|Sciurba, Frank|Schwartz, David A.|Kaminski, Naftali|Beane, Jennifer|Spira, Avrum|Lenburg, Marc E.|Campbell, Joshua D. Integrative genetic and genomic networks identify microRNA associated with COPD and ILD Scientific Reports [20452322]. 13(1) , 2023.
• Preisendörfer, Stefan|Ishikawa, Yoshihiro|Hennen, Elisabeth|Winklmeier, Stephan|Schupp, Jonas C.|Knüppel, Larissa|Fernandez, Isis E.|Binzenhöfer, Leonhard|Flatley, Andrew|Juan-Guardela, Brenda M.|Ruppert, Clemens|Guenther, Andreas|Frankenberger, Marion|Hatz, Rudolf A.|Kneidinger, Nikolaus|Behr, Jürgen|Feederle, Regina|Schepers, Aloys|Hilgendorff, Anne|Kaminski, Naftali|Meinl, Edgar|Bächinger, Hans Peter|Eickelberg, Oliver|Staab-Weijnitz, Claudia A. FK506-Binding Protein 11 Is a Novel Plasma Cell-Specific Antibody Folding Catalyst with Increased Expression in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Cells [20734409]. 11(8) , 2022.
• Pressendo, Lisa|Brewster, Nathan|Juan Guardela, Brenda Systemic Epstein-Barr virus-related t-cell lymphoproliferative disorder: a rare cause of dyspnea and pulmonary infiltrates in an immunocompetent adult Chest [00123692]. 162(4) , 2022.
• Preisendoerfer, S|Knüppel, L|Binzenhöfer, L|Fernandez, IE|Juan-Guardela, BM|Hatz, R|Behr, J|Kaminski, N|Schepers, A|Eickelberg, O|Staab-Weijnitz, C Fk506-binding protein 11, a plasma cell-specific protein folding catalyst, is increased in pulmonary fibrosis Pneumologie [09348387]. 72(S 01) , 2018.
• Tan, Jiangning|Tedrow, John R|Nouraie, Mehdi|Dutta, Justin A|Miller, David T|Li, Xiaoyun|Yu, Shibing|Chu, Yanxia|Juan-Guardela, Brenda|Kaminski, Naftali|Ramani, Kritika|Biswas, Partha S|Zhang, Yingze|Kass, Daniel J Loss of Twist1 in the Mesenchymal Compartment Promotes Increased Fibrosis in Experimental Lung Injury by Enhanced Expression of CXCL12 Journal of immunology [00221767]. 198(6) , 2017.
• Herazo-Maya, Jose D|Sun, Jiehuan|Molyneaux, Philip L|Li, Qin|Villalba, Julian A|Tzouvelekis, Argyrios|Lynn, Heather|Juan-Guardela, Brenda M|Risquez, Cristobal|Osorio, Juan C|Yan, Xiting|Michel, George|Aurelien, Nachelle|Lindell, Kathleen O|Klesen, Melinda J|Moffatt, Miriam F|Cookson, William O|Zhang, Yingze|Garcia, Joe G N|Noth, Imre|Prasse, Antje|Bar-Joseph, Ziv|Gibson, Kevin F|Zhao, Hongyu|Herzog, Erica L|Rosas, Ivan O|Maher, Toby M|Kaminski, Naftali Validation of a 52-gene risk profile for outcome prediction in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: an international, multicentre, cohort study The Lancet Respiratory Medicine [22132600]. 5(11) , 2017.
• Juan-Guardela, Brenda|Kaminski, Naftali|Trejo Bittar, Humberto|Tan, Jiangning|Tedrow, John R.|Dutta, Justin A.|Nouraie, Mehdi|Chu, Yanxia|Veraldi, Kristen L.|Zhang, Yingze|Kass, Daniel J.|Ramani, Kritika|Biswas, Partha S. Expression of RXFP1 Is Decreased in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Implications for Relaxin-based Therapies American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine [1073449X]. 194(11) , 2016.
• Kusko, Rebecca L.|Brothers, John F.|Tedrow, John|Pandit, Kusum|Huleihel, Luai|Perdomo, Catalina|Liu, Gang|Juan-Guardela, Brenda|Kass, Daniel|Zhang, Sherry|Lenburg, Marc|Martinez, Fernando|Quackenbush, John|Sciurba, Frank|Limper, Andrew|Geraci, Mark|Yang, Ivana|Schwartz, David A.|Beane, Jennifer|Spira, Avrum|Kaminski, Naftali Integrated Genomics Reveals Convergent Transcriptomic Networks Underlying Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine [1073449X]. 194(8) , 2016.
• Kim, SungHwan|Herazo-Maya, Jose D.|Kang, Dongwan D.|Juan-Guardela, Brenda M.|Tedrow, John|Martinez, Fernando J.|Sciurba, Frank C.|Tseng, George C.|Kaminski, Naftali Integrative phenotyping framework (iPF): integrative clustering of multiple omics data identifies novel lung disease subphenotypes BMC Genomics [14712164]. 16(1) , 2015.
• Eickelberg, Oliver|Staab-Weijnitz, Claudia A.|Fernandez, Isis E.|Knüppel, Larissa|Maul, Julia|Heinzelmann, Katharina|Hennen, Elisabeth|Lindner, Michael|Juan-Guardela, Brenda M.|Kaminski, Naftali|Neurohr, Claus|Behr, Jürgen|Hatz, Rudolf|Preissler, Gerhard|Winter, Hauke FK506-Binding Protein 10, a Potential Novel Drug Target for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine [1073449X]. 192(4) , 2015.
• de Bernard, Simon|Tedrow, John|Gibson, Kevin F.|Lindell, Kathleen O.|Bauer, Yasmina|Birker-Robaczewska, Magdalena|Hess, Patrick|Klenk, Axel|Poirey, Sylvie|Renault, Bérengère|Rey, Markus|Weber, Edgar|Nayler, Oliver|Guardela, Brenda Juan|Kaminski, Naftali A Novel Genomic Signature with Translational Significance for Human Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology [10441549]. 52(2) , 2015.
• Campbell, Joshua D.|Liu, Gang|Luo, Lingqi|Xiao, Ji|Gerrein, Joseph|Juan-Guardela, Brenda|Tedrow, John|Alekseyev, Yuriy O.|Yang, Ivana V.|Correll, Mick|Geraci, Mark|Quackenbush, John|Sciurba, Frank|Schwartz, David A.|Kaminski, Naftali|Johnson, W. Evan|Monti, Stefano|Spira, Avrum|Beane, Jennifer|Lenburg, Marc E. Assessment of microRNA differential expression and detection in multiplexed small RNA sequencing data RNA [13558382]. 21(2) , 2015.
• Siegfried, Jill M.|Parwani, Anil|Robertson, Jennifer|Gauldie, Jack|Nukui, Tomoko|Romkes, Marjorie|Kass, Daniel J.|Yu, Guoying|Herazo-Maya, Jose D.|Juan-Guardela, Brenda M.|Kaminski, Naftali Matrix Metalloproteinase-19 Promotes Metastatic Behavior In Vitro and Is Associated with Increased Mortality in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine [1073449X]. 190(7) , 2014.
• Rabinovich, Einat|Sciurba, Frank C.|Tedrow, John R.|Zhang, Yingze|Singh, Mandal K.|Schwartz, David A.|Yang, Ivana V.|Pedersen, Brent S.|Hennessy, Corinne E.|Davidson, Elizabeth J.|Murphy, Elissa|Schwarz, Marvin I.|Geraci, Mark|Spira, Avrum|Guardela, Brenda Juan|Kaminski, Naftali|Correll, Mick|Quackenbush, John Relationship of DNA Methylation and Gene Expression in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine [1073449X]. 190(11) , 2014.
• Noth, Imre|Zhang, Yingze|Ma, Shwu-Fan|Flores, Carlos|Barber, Mathew|Huang, Yong|Broderick, Steven M|Wade, Michael S|Hysi, Pirro|Scuirba, Joseph|Richards, Thomas J|Juan-Guardela, Brenda M|Vij, Rekha|Han, MeiLan K|Martinez, Fernando J|Kossen, Karl|Seiwert, Scott D|Christie, Jason D|Nicolae, Dan|Kaminski, Naftali|Garcia, Joe GN Genetic variants associated with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis susceptibility and mortality: a genome-wide association study The Lancet Respiratory Medicine [22132600]. 1(4) , 2013.
• Duncan, Steven R.|Richards, Thomas J.|Lindell, Kathleen O.|Xue, Jianmin|Gibson, Kevin F.|Shapiro, Steven D.|Feingold, Eleanor|Kim, SungHwan|Tseng, George C.|Garcia, Joe G. N.|Herazo-Maya, Jose D.|Juan-Guardela, Brenda M.|Kaminski, Naftali|Lussier, Yves|Noth, Imre|Ma, Shwu-Fan|Huang, Yong|Vij, Rekha Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cell Gene Expression Profiles Predict Poor Outcome in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Science Translational Medicine [19466234]. 5(205) , 2013.
• Kass, Daniel J.|Yu, Guoying|Loh, Katrina S.|Savir, Asaf|Borczuk, Alain|Kahloon, Rehan|Juan-Guardela, Brenda|Deiuliis, Giuseppe|Tedrow, John|Choi, Jiin|Richards, Thomas|Kaminski, Naftali|Greenberg, Steven M. Cytokine-Like Factor 1 Gene Expression Is Enriched in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis and Drives the Accumulation of CD4+ T Cells in Murine Lungs American Journal of Pathology [00029440]. 180(5) , 2012.