Dr. Waghmare’s research is focused on respiratory viral infections in immunocompromised adults and children. She is interested in the factors that influence disease progression, with the intent to identify diagnostic, prevention, and treatment strategies. Currently she is focused on the impact of human rhinovirus, the most common virus detected from respiratory specimens in hematopoietic cell transplant recipients. She is working to identify clinical, viral, and host factors that may serve as biomarkers for disease severity. Viral factors she is evaluating include viral load in blood or respiratory secretions, strain type, and shedding duration. Host factors are being evaluated through host cytokine responses and whole blood gene expression profiles. These determinants of disease will serve as biomarkers for risk stratification and can be used diagnostically to predict poor outcome, thus defining patients who warrant aggressive treatment strategies. Additionally, these studies will provide important insight into biologic pathways during infection and define possible targets for intervention. Dr. Waghmare is also involved in clinical trials for novel antivirals for treatment of respiratory viral infections in immunocompromised hosts. Dr. Waghmare works closely with Drs. Janet Englund and Michael Boeckh