Joseph P. Mizgerd ScD

Professor, Pulmonary, Allergy, Sleep & Critical Care Medicine

Director, Pulmonary Center

72 E. Concord Street | (617) 358-1186
jmizgerd@bu.edu

Sections

Pulmonary, Allergy, Sleep & Critical Care Medicine

Centers

Pulmonary Center

Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research

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.

Other Positions

Websites

BU Profile

Pneumonia Biology

Pulmonary Center

Pulmonary, Allergy, Sleep & Critical Care Medicine Faculty

2020 University Lecture

Education

Cell & Molecular Biology, ScD, Harvard School of Public Health

Biology, BA, Amherst College

Publications

Published on 4/28/2026

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. Sub-phenotypes of pneumonia defined by pulmonary histopathological features. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2026 Apr 28. PMID: 42089675.

PubMed

Published on 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.

PubMed

Published on 3/25/2026

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

PubMed

Published on 3/23/2026

Hayes KM, Boldt K, Schnorr PJ, Bawa P, Abyazi ML, Ware MS, Gyimesi G, James M, Ko HM, Cunningham-Rundles C, Mizgerd JP, Mostoslavsky G, Kotton DN, Maglione PJ. Heterozygous NFKB1 variant causes inflammatory dysregulation shaped by broader genetic context in common variable immunodeficiency. JCI Insight. 2026 Mar 23; 11(6). PMID: 41869721.

PubMed

Published on 1/16/2026

Armstrong EM, Mizgerd JP. Helping alveolar macrophages live to fight another day during viral pneumonia. J Clin Invest. 2026 Jan 16; 136(2). PMID: 41542776.

PubMed

Published on 11/26/2025

Arnold CG, McCartney MM, Davis CE, Mizgerd JP, Kenyon NJ. Harnessing breath biomarkers for pneumonia diagnosis and prognosis. Expert Rev Respir Med. 2026 May; 20(5):491-500. PMID: 41284337.

PubMed

Published on 10/14/2025

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. Mosaic pattern: lung functional heterogeneity at the alveolus level. bioRxiv. 2025 Oct 14. PMID: 41279987.

PubMed

Published on 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.

PubMed

Published on 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.

PubMed

Published on 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.

PubMed

View full list of 164 publications.