Daryhl Johnson, MD, MPH

I am a pediatric pulmonologist with over thirty years of experience, who has special expertise in suppurative lung diseases, like cystic fibrosis, primary ciliary dyskinesia, and non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis. My research has largely focused of genetic and molecular factors that contribute to chronic airway infection, inflammation, and epithelial injury, with nearly thirty-years of continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health. I have also authored or co-written over 200 original articles, scholarly reviews, and book chapters on these and other pulmonary conditions that affect children and adolescents.

As a physician scientist I have always had a passion for integrating patient care with research dedicated to improving cancer treatments. Clinically, I specialize in the management of patients with hematologic malignancies who are undergoing stem cell transplantation or receiving other cellular therapies, like CAR T cells. My research is focused on better understanding how to fully engage the immune system in its fight against cancer. I am studying how extracellular signals in the tumor microenvironment regulate the function of immune cells with a particular interest in exploring how signal transduction pathways impact the differentiation state of T cells, which in turn controls their antitumor activity. The primary goal of this research is to uncover new therapeutic targets to improve the long-term effectiveness of cellular therapeutics to treat patients.

I chose to become a physician to learn more about the human body, and then to have the opportunity to take that knowledge and apply it in an understandable and approachable way to all my patients. I ultimately became a specialist in heart rhythm disorders as it is a rapidly growing field that still has much to be discovered. Heart rhythm disorders can be very frightening, and it is my mission to help my patients understand their condition in a comprehensible way, incorporating their thoughts and opinions into their own plan of care.