Joseph P. Mizgerd, ScD

Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Our work focuses on immunology in the lung and its influence on acute lower respiratory tract infections. Our research is illuminating the regulation and function of innate and adaptive immune cells and signals in the lung, and how variations in these parameters determine pneumonia susceptibility and outcome. Lung defense consists of immune resistance (the ability to eliminate microbes) and tissue resilience (the ability to prevent or withstand injurious stimuli from infection and inflammation). Both activities are accomplished by the coordinated activities of diverse cell types within the lung, involving some that are constitutively present (including diverse types of epithelial cells, macrophages, lymphocytes, and more) as well as others newly recruited to the infected tissue (including neutrophils plus additional myeloid or lymphoid cells). Effective and productive communication amongst these cells can efficiently destroy microbes without damaging the lung, maintaining respiratory health. Dysregulation of these pathways instead promotes infection (e.g., pneumonia), injury (e.g., the acute respiratory distress syndrome), and other pulmonary diseases. Elucidating factors that differentiate lung infection resistance and susceptibility will enable new approaches to preventing and treating pneumonia.

Publications

  • Published 8/1/2025

    Samarasinghe AE, Randell SH, Kulkarni HS, Weiser JN, Quinton LJ, Dickson RP, Mizgerd JP, Orihuela CJ, Parker D, Robinson KM, Prince AS, Evans SE, Kolls JK, Lee JS, Jeyaseelan S, Torres A, Miller LA, Hamilton DJ, Gómez MI, Moore BB, Walker RL, Barkal LJ, Hook JL, Lau GW, Sharma J, Witzenrath M, Dela Cruz CS. Best Practices in the Development and Use of Experimental Models of Bacterial Pneumonia: An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2025 Aug; 73(2):178-199. PMID: 40748059.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 6/12/2025

    Caobi A, Su CM, Beusch CM, Kenney D, Darling TL, Feng S, Semaan M, Wacquiez A, Sanders NL, Tully ES, Chen DY, Evdokimova M, Ding Z, Jones D, Alysandratos KD, Mizgerd JP, Kirchdoerfer RN, Kotton DN, Douam F, Crossland NA, Boon ACM, Gordon DE, Baker SC, Saeed M. SARS-CoV-2 nsp15 enhances viral virulence by subverting host antiviral defenses. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2025 Jun 17; 122(24):e2426528122. PMID: 40504150.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 6/2/2025

    Fredberg JJ, Mizgerd JP. Combining innovative methodologies with deep personal connections to further physiology research: lessons from Joseph D. Brain, ScD. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2025 Aug 01; 329(2):L197-L199. PMID: 40454782.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 5/20/2025

    Shastry A, Hiller BE, Sanders NL, Tseng AE, Kothari J, O'Connell AK, Gertje HP, Ha CT, Murzin E, Traber KE, Lederer JA, Jones MR, Douam F, Beach TG, Remick DG, Crossland NA, Monti S, Campbell JD, Mizgerd JP. Sub-phenotypes of pneumonia defined by pulmonary histopathological features. bioRxiv. 2025 May 20. PMID: 40475544.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/25/2025

    Vasquez JH, Yuan J, Leow CJ, Crossey E, Shao F, Carty S, Dominguez VA, Lo M, Mizgerd JP, Fetterman JL, Lau NC, Fine A, Jones MR. Somatic Miwi2 modulates mitochondrial function in airway multiciliated cells and exacerbates influenza pathogenesis. iScience. 2025 Apr 18; 28(4):112291. PMID: 40241756.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 157 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Other Positions

  • Director, Pulmonary Center
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Professor, Biochemistry & Cell Biology
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Professor, Virology, Immunology & Microbiology
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research
    Boston University
  • Member, Genome Science Institute
    Boston University
  • Graduate Faculty (Primary Mentor of Grad Students)
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences

Websites

Education

  • Harvard School of Public Health, ScD
  • Amherst College, BA

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