Researcher | Research Overview
Dr. Melody Duvall’s research centers on the study of immunologic mechanisms underlying diseases of lung inflammation with a focus on cellular targets and molecular pathways for the resolution of lung inflammation and injury. Her current research is focused on investigating the role of natural killer (NK) cells in the pathophysiology of acute RSV-associated lung inflammation in critically ill infants and children with respiratory failure. In collaboration with Dr. Bruce Levy (levylab.bwh.harvard.edu), Dr. Duvall studies the impact of lipid-derived specialized pro-resolving mediators in enhancing NK cell resolution effector functions. She is also a collaborator on translational research projects in patients with severe asthma focused on immune dysregulation and impaired inflammation resolution in this population. The overarching goal of Dr. Duvall’s research is to generate insight into the pathogenesis of severe RSV bronchiolitis and other diseases of overwhelming lung inflammation to identify novel resolution pathways promising for future therapeutic development.
Researcher | Research Background
Dr. Melody Duvall is board-certified in pediatric critical care medicine and is an attending physician in the Medical-Surgical and Cardiac Intensive Care Units. She received her PhD in Immunology from Oxford University, United Kingdom, in 2006 through the NIH-Oxford Graduate Partnership Program and her MD from Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine in 2008. She completed her pediatrics residency at Boston Children’s Hospital in 2012 and her pediatric critical care medicine fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital in 2015. She is currently a Scholar in the Pediatric Critcal Care and Trauma Scientist Devleopment Program (PCCTSDP), a national NICHD-funded K12 career developlement award.