Robert M Tighe MD

Critical Care Medicine

Associate Professor of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine

Duke Medical Ctr# 3221Durham, NC 27710
Phone+1 919-684-8111
Fax+1 919-684-5389

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Summary

Dr. Robert Tighe is a pulmonologist in Durham, NC and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including Duke Regional Hospital and Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He received his medical degree from University of Tennessee College of Medicine and has been in practice 15 years. He is experienced in interstitial lung disease, acute lung injury, macrophages, and ozone.

Education & Training

Duke University HospitalFellowship, Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine, 2006 - 2009
Boston University Medical CenterResidency, Internal Medicine, 2002 - 2005
University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of MedicineClass of 2002
Northwestern UniversityB.A., 1997

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Certifications & Licensure

NC State Medical License 2006 - 2026
MA State Medical License 2005 - 2007
American Board of Internal Medicine Critical Care Medicine
American Board of Internal Medicine Pulmonary Disease

Awards, Honors, & Recognition

i-CLIIP 2011 Award 2011
Faculty Award Duke University Department of Medicine, 2011
Seventh Annual Respiratory Disease Young Investigator's Forum Seventh Annual Respiratory Disease Young Investigator's Forum, 2010

Clinical Trials

Interstitial Lung Diseases in the Veterans Administration
UNKNOWN
ONES Grant: CXCL10/CXCR3 Regulation of Ozone-Induced Epithelial Permeability Start of enrollment: 2019 Aug 16
COMPLETED
EARLY_PHASE1
Mechanisms of Ozone-Induced Alterations in Efferocytosis and Phagocytosis Start of enrollment: 2019 Mar 19
COMPLETED
PHASE1

Publications & Presentations

PubMed

Scarred and esterified: diverse roles of cholesterol esters in pulmonary fibrosis.
Michael T Forrester, Robert M Tighe
American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology. 2026-08-01
Pathogen-specific host responses define distinct pneumonia endotypes in the human lung.
Nikolay S Markov, Marcin Możejko, Vijeeth Guggilla, Małgorzata Łazęcka, Helen K Donnelly
Biorxiv. 2026-05-14
Lipid adsorbed on the surface of nanomaterials enhances protein corona formation.
Morgan M Heckman, Catherine S Cai, Abhishek Kalpattu, Emily M Simmons, Robert M Tighe
Environmental Science. Nano. 2026-04-23

Books/Book Chapters

Air Pollution and Immune Function.
Tighe RM, Wheeler J, Hollingsworth JW
Fishman's Pulmonary Diseases and Disorders.
Chapter: Idiopathic Interstitial Pneumonias: Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF).
Tighe RM, Meltzer EB, Noble PWEdition 5th,
Irwin & Rippe, Intensive Care Medicine.
Chapter: Diagnosis and treatment of Anxiety in the Intensive Care Unit.
Holmer SA, Tighe RMEdition 6th,

Abstracts/Posters

Ozone Inhalation Results in CX3CR1-Dependent Maturation of Resident Lung Macrophages.
Tighe RM, Li Z, Potts E, Frush S, Gunn MD, Foster WM, Noble PW, Hollingsworth JW, ATS International Conference, Denver, CO, 5/16/2011
Ozone Inhalation Results in Maturation of Resident Lung Macrophages.
Tighe RM, Jung Y, Li Z, Gunn MD, Foster WM, Noble PW, Hollingsworth JW, Seventh Annual Respiratory Disease Young Investigators Forum, San Antonio, TX, 10/14/2010
Exudative Macrophages but not Alveolar Macrophages are the Main Source of IP-10 after Non-Infectious/Fibrotic Lung Injury.
Tighe RM, Liang J, Jiang D, Gunn MD, Noble PW, ATS International Conference, New Orleans, LA, 5/1/2010

Lectures

Defining Macrophage Subpopulations after Non-Infectious Lung Injury.
Houston, TX - 3/12/2014
Interstitial Lung Disease: A practical approach.
Durham, NC - 9/17/2013
Macrophage Subpopulations in Non-Infectious Lung Injury.
Chapel Hill, NC - 10/12/2011

Grant Support

Monocyte-derived alveolar macrophage drives inflammatory response to lung ozone exposureDUKE UNIVERSITY2022–2027
Regulation of Lung Fibrosis by Alternatively Activated Macrophages and Arginase-1NIHPresent