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 8/1/2026

    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. Subphenotypes of pneumonia defined by pulmonary histopathological features. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2026 Aug 01; 212(8):1778-1792. PMID: 42089675.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 7/10/2026

    Sanders NL, Kenney D, Etesami NS, Shenoy AT, Kontodimas K, Amirault J, Okolo C, Dominguez VA, Semaan M, Murzin E, Lederer JA, Douam F, Saeed M, Mizgerd JP. Systemic and lung-resident memory elicited by OC43 coronavirus infection in mice. J Immunol. 2026 Jul 10; 215(7). PMID: 42455848.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 7/8/2026

    Grifno GN, Kahvecioglu HA, LeBourdais R, Travnik V, Banerji R, Wangsrikhun W, Shi L, Bozal SB, Suh H, Raslan AA, Batgidis A, Kang B, Deng F, Dalton C, Tsao A, Castle L, Regan K, Kobayter A, Vannini M, Rashidian M, Hao L, Ligresti G, Mizgerd JP, Longest W, Hindle M, Saltzman WM, Butler JP, Suki B, Nia HT. Real-time single-particle imaging of functional lungs reveals mosaic-like patterns of aerosol deposition in alveoli. Nat Biomed Eng. 2026 Jul 08. PMID: 42420427.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 4/16/2026

    Crossey E, Carty S, Garza I, Perez M, Shao F, Al Abdullatif S, Campbell JD, Mizgerd JP, Fine A, Jones MR. Spatially Resolved Heterogeneity of Lymphatic Vasculature in the Adult Lung-Brief Report. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2026 Jun; 46(6):e324437. PMID: 41988715.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/25/2026

    Mizgerd JP. Host-Pathogen Interactions Leading to Pneumonia Pathogenesis. Clin Chest Med. 2026 Jun; 47(2):215-224. PMID: 42203414.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 166 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 Medical Sciences Educator and Mentor (Primary Mentor of Graduate 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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