We’d like you to meet Wanda Phipatanakul, MD, MS, director of the Division of Immunology Research Center at Boston Children’s Hospital and S. Jean Emans Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Below, we ask Wanda about her research to reduce and prevent asthma and allergic diseases.
What research are you currently working on?
1. Health disparities in inner-city children: My lab discovered the relationship between mouse infestations in urban homes and asthma that spurred a U01 study focused on home mouse allergen mitigation and asthma morbidity. Our findings (JAMA 2017) highlighted that in homes where our intervention was effective, the health benefits surpassed what has been found with inhaled corticosteroids. I extended my work into urban schools, where there was scant information. We showed for the first time, in work published in JAMA Peds 2017, Chest 2015 and JACI 2018/2020, that school exposures (mouse allergen, mold allergen, endotoxin and pollutants) directly impact asthma morbidity. From a U01 funded school environmental intervention study; we learned the school integrated pest management helped children during peak fall/winter asthma exacerbations (JAMA 2021) and our data helps guide future policies. I have extended our work in inner-city schools to other conditions such as food allergy, atopic dermatitis and sleep. I now lead an R01 evaluating environmental exposures and sleep disordered breathing in children, an area with extremely limited information.
2. Precision Medicine: I bridge cutting edge-investigations with basic science colleagues around me. We found that humans with an IL-4Rα-R576 variant demonstrated mixed TH2/TH17 cell inflammation and this phenotype is regulated by NOTCH4 T regulatory cells in the airways consistent with their more severe asthma (Nature Medicine 2016/Nature Immunol 2020).I now lead a U01 testing whether asthmatics affected by this variant will manifest a particularly favorable response to an IL-4Rα receptor antagonist, dupilumab. This may inform a genotype-driven approach to treatment with biologics, directly impacting how we manage patients in the clinic and we have patents on developing these novel approaches. We are testing/investigating the same variant in atopic dermatitis and I lead our Center in the NIH competitively awarded Atopic Dermatitis Research Network, paving the way for precision medicine in other diseases. I am experienced in successfully bridging bench to bedside translational approaches.
3. Prevention: I am overall PI of a nationwide 14-center asthma prevention U01 study evaluating omalizumab (anti-IgE) in preventing the allergic asthma march in high risk 2-3 year olds, which is the first study of its kind, and brings to BCH national recognition and a core of unique translational/mechanistic investigation.
4. NIH Networks: I was the Boston pediatric PI for the NHLBI U10 AsthmaNet during its 9-year cycle since 2009. In AsthmaNet, among other high impact investigations published in NEJM and JAMA, we laid to rest a longstanding controversy in the field, showing that acetaminophen use does not confer increased asthma morbidity in children (NEJM 2016, senior corresponding author). I am the Boston pediatric site PI for the Severe Asthma Research Program and the PreCISE network, evaluating precision medicine in severe asthma. I lead our Center in the Childhood Asthma in Urban Settings and Atopic Dermatitis Research network. I served as Project Lead for the NIH/NIAMS Pediatric Patient Reported Outcomes in Chronic Diseases (PEPR) Consortium, which validates pediatric reported outcomes in multiple conditions (i.e. asthma, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, lupus, juvenile arthritis, chronic kidney disease, sickle cell disease, diabetes and atopic dermatitis) and the competitively awarded PEPR Geocoding core that leverages neighborhood factors and outcomes. My role in NIH consortia has positioned Boston Children’s Hospital as the premier pediatric collaborative research enterprise in my field. I have produced >300 publications and delivered >250 invited lectures nationally and internationally to disseminate my work and to give career advice. I was elected into the American Society of Clinical Investigation in 2017, an honor society for exemplary research.
When you were first starting out, what inspired you to embark on this path of research? Do you have any tips for young investigators?
I got the research bug when I was a fellow. When I joined here as a full time clinician I gradually built collaborations in my community which extended to national and international collaborations. I have lots of tips– but really find something something you love and stick with it.. Learn how to collaborate with everyone– Have great mentors and build on team science.
How has our Center helped further your research? How do you engage with our Center?
I have collaborated with a number of Investigators in the Center, and I have developed fruitful collaborations Lots of the NIH funded work is built from teams.
Outside of the academic space, what do you like to do for fun?
I love running and traveling and beaches with my family and especially my kids. I also play the harp and piano.