Dr. Wenzel’s laboratory has focused on understanding both the subtypes of human asthma and the combination of environmental and genetic factors which drive them. Research has been intensive on the role of airway epithelial cells in human disease, given the position of these cells to link the environment with the host. Work encompasses use of large epidemiologic/research databases, including those both local and national, to define patient characteristics and relationships to environmental triggers, but also to include studies of specific human immunology, both in human samples and model systems. Current pathways of interest include those related to environmental and innate lung oxidative stress, as well as their intersections with inflammation, mucins and cell death pathways.