Michael J. Boeckh, MD, PhD

Dr. Michael Boeckh is an expert in infections that affect patients whose immune systems are weakened by illness, chemotherapy or blood stem cell transplantation. His research focuses on herpes viruses, respiratory viruses and the genetic factors that make individuals susceptible to them. His group conducts clinical trials testing ways to prevent and treat infection by common viruses such as cytomegalovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza virus and rhinovirus. In patients with weakened immunity, these can cause serious lung disease and death. The team also studies certain herpes viruses that can reactivate in cancer patients long after they were first infected. One such virus, HHV-6, is responsible for the common childhood rash roseola. It often flares up in patients who have received blood stem cell transplants. For them, the virus may raise the risk of central nervous system infections and graft-vs.-host disease, two frequent and potentially deadly complications. He is co-leader of the CovidWatch study, which sends home test kits to at-risk frontline workers, so researchers can track COVID-19 infections.