Education
Ph.D., University of Maryland, 2010
M.A., San Francisco State University, 1995
Research Interests
My research focuses on innate immune responses to pathogens. Asthma is the most common chronic childhood disease in the US. Infection with Rhinovirus (HRV), one of several viruses that cause the common cold, causes viral-induced asthma exacerbations in the predisposed. My work suggest that components of innate immune sensing pathways are critical to HRV replication and asthma exacerbations. I am developing a murine model of HRV infection and HRV-induced asthma to better evaluate the role of HRV in asthma. Additionally, through clinical trials, we are testing innate immune-modulators to evaluate their efficacy in HRV infection and asthma.
