Michael J. Boeckh

Dr. Michael J. Boeckh is a Professor and Head of Infectious Disease Sciences Program at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and holds a Professorship in the Department of Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine. His expertise lies in infections affecting immunocompromised individuals, particularly post-transplant patients. He leads research on cytomegalovirus (CMV), respiratory viruses, and genetic factors influencing infection susceptibility. His clinical roles include attending physician and head of infectious disease consulting services at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

Education: MD (1985) and PhD in Medicine (1988) from Freie Universität Berlin.

Research Interests: CMV immune reconstitution, respiratory virus pathogenesis in immunocompromised hosts, genetic epidemiology of infections, and translational strategies for prevention/treatment. Key projects include CMV prophylaxis trials, viral diagnostics using self-collection methods (e.g., Tasso devices), and biomarker identification for disease progression.

Clinical Expertise: Management of CMV, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), parainfluenza, and herpesviruses in immunocompromised patients, including transplant recipients and cancer patients undergoing CAR-T therapy.

Labs/Teams: Directs the Boeckh Group and oversees the VIDD/IDS Biorepository, housing over 350,000 clinical samples from transplant patients. Active in training programs for infectious disease fellows and postdoctoral researchers.

Current Studies: GRAIL Phase 3 trial for CMV prevention in respiratory failure patients, Phase III trials for RSV treatments, and SARS-CoV-2 studies (e.g., CovidIPS and CovidWatch).