Washington University in St Louis · Microbiology & ImmunologyThe Respira Lab
Carolina B. Lopez · Saint Louis, Missouri
Research Focus
Dr. Carolina B. Lopez's lab at Washington University focuses on understanding how respiratory viruses, particularly the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and parainfluenza viruses, contribute to viral infections and chronic lung diseases. The lab investigates the role of defective viral genomes in disease severity and seeks to explore the long-term impacts of these viral infections on respiratory health. By studying how viruses persist in the body after initial infection, the lab aims to find new ways to reduce the public health burden caused by these common infections.
Respiratory Syncytial VirusParainfluenza VirusDefective Viral GenomesChronic Lung DiseaseViral PathogenesisAntiviral ImmunityPersistent Viral InfectionsViral Host InteractionsImmune ResponsePublic Health
Research Aims
3AIM 01Investigate the species of defective viral genomes present in human respiratory secretions and their clinical implications.
AIM 02Identify host factors that influence the accumulation of defective viral genomes during respiratory virus infections.
AIM 03Assess the long-term effects of persistent respiratory viral infections on chronic lung inflammation and susceptibility to future infections.
Skills the Lab Values
PCRcell culturemouse modelsRNA sequencingWestern blotimmunofluorescencemetagenomicsflow cytometrybioinformaticsin vivo experiments
Output against the department
Publications199top 32% of dept.155th of 486
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations7.3ktop 48% of dept.235th of 486
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.