Michael E. Wechsler, MD, MMSc Make an Appointment Ask a Question Refer Patient Michael E. Wechsler, MD, is a pulmonologist at National Jewish Health. Dr. Wechsler is in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine. Director, The Cohen Family Asthma Institute Professor Department of Medicine Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine 5280 Top Doctors 2019 Previously a 5280 Top Doctor America’s Top Doctors 2015 — Castle Connolly, Medical, Ltd. Recognized in America’s Top Doctors — Castle Connolly, Inc. Best Doctors in America® 2018-2019 — Best Doctors, Inc. Recognized in Best Doctors in America® — Best Doctors, Inc. America’s Top Doctors 2019 — Castle Connolly Medical, Ltd. 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Overview Contact Info & Locations Patient Ratings & Comments Programs & Services Asthma Treatment Program (Adult) Department of Medicine Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine (Adult) Specialties & Conditions Acute and Chronic Eosinophilic Pneumonia Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis (ABPA) Asthma Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (EGPA) Eosinophilic Lung Diseases Idiopathic Hypereosinophilic Syndrome Research Areas Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (EGPA) Eosinophilic Lung Diseases Asthma Related Clinical Trials Identifying Characteristics and Patterns of Asthma MANDALA Asthma Study New ABPA Study Medication Special Interests My primary research focuses on clinical and translational asthma research, with three main foci of investigation: (i) asthma genetics and personalized medicine; (ii) clinical trials in asthma; and (iii) Churg-Strauss Syndrome. Regarding the genetics of asthma, I have investigated the role of numerous candidate gene polymorphisms in the pathogenesis and management of asthma. I was the Principal Investigator of the Lancet-published, NHLBI-funded Asthma Clinical Research Network’s LARGE trial, which prospectively investigated the effect of beta-adrenergic receptor polymorphisms on the asthmatic response to salmeterol. I also led a recently completed Partners Genetics Enters Medicine Initiative funded trial examining genotype-stratified treatment with anticholinergics vs. beta-agonists (long acting) and exacerbations (GABLE) in asthma (currently undergoing analysis). I was a site Principal Investigator examining the effects of a novel therapy for asthma (bronchial thermoplasty) that utilizes thermal energy to disrupt airway smooth muscle and presented study data to the FDA Medical Advisory panel in 2009, leading to its 2010 FDA approval. I was also awarded an NIH sponsored R21 award to examine the effects of placebo on lung function in asthma, and completed this clinical trial work in more than 40 subjects. Having reported on the importance of using placebos in clinical trials and on the relevance of patient reported outcomes in clinical trials, my NEJM manuscript reset the standard for clinical trial design in this condition. I am a member of the Steering Committee of the NIH-sponsored Asthma Clinical Research Network (ACRN, /Asthmanet), a multi-center asthma clinical trials consortium that has conducted numerous trials that have clarified our understanding of asthma phenotyping and asthma management, laying the foundation for current asthma guidelines. As a member of this consortium, I was the lead investigator who described an association between asthma treatment failures and beta agonist use in African Americans, and am a lead investigator in two separate trials examining race-specific differences in response to asthma therapy. A major focus of my research is elucidating the pathophysiology of Churg-Strauss syndrome, a rare form of eosinophilic vasculitis. I was the first to describe the relationship between CSS and leukotriene modifiers, and between CSS and anti-IgE therapy for asthma. I clinically follow one of the largest cohorts of CSS patients in the country and serve as a referral base for patients with severe asthma from all over the USA. This expertise, and two research awards, have enabled me to recruit the largest cohort of CSS patients, which are serving as the primary test population in a genome-wide association study of CSS. I have examined the role of anti-IL5 in the treatment of CSS patients and have received NIAID R34 funding do a double blind placebo controlled trial in this patient population. News & Videos African American Children Respond Differently to Asthma Medications Asthma Add-on Therapies Compared for Black Adults Mepolizumab Helps Patients with Refractory Churg-Strauss Syndrome National Jewish Health Establishes Cohen Family Asthma Institute To Cure Severe Asthma Study Seeks to Improve Asthma Therapy for African Americans Vitamin D Fails to Help Asthma Patients Education Education 2014 - 2015 University of Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, Denver, CO, University of Colorado Mentoring Training Program 2009 Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, Leadership Development Program for Physicians and Scientists 2000 - 2003 Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, MMSc, Medical Science 2000 - 2003 Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, Scholars in Clinical Science Program 1989 - 1993 McGill University School of Medicine, Montreal, Quebec, MD, Medicine Internships 1993 - 1994 Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, MA, Intern, Internal Medicine Residency 1995 - 1996 West Roxbury VA Medical Center, W. Roxbury, MA, Chief Medical Resident, Internal Medicine 1994 - 1996 Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, MA, Resident, Internal Medicine Fellowship 1998 - 1999 Harvard Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, Research Fellow 1996 - 1998 Beth Israel Medical Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, Clinical Fellow, Harvard Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Awards & Recognition Present: Associate Editor, Allergy 2019: America’s Top Doctors 2019 — Castle Connolly Medical, Ltd. 2018: America’s Top Doctors 2018 — Castle Connolly Medical, Ltd. 2017: America’s Top Doctors 2017 — Castle Connolly Medical, Ltd. 2014: AAAAI ARTrust™ and Dr. William and Judith H. Busse Lectureship: Investing Together in Our Future Award 2013: Colorado alliance for CME award “Most outstanding CME activity” Improving the quality of care for patients with asthma (Chair) 2012: American Society for Clinical Investigation 2005: Abstract Second Prize, Massachusetts Thoracic Society 2003: Research Award, Clinical, Merck 2002: Research Award, American Lung Association 2001: Young Investigator Special Project Award, Respiratory, Merck 1999: Young Investigators Meeting (participant), Respiratory, Merck 1998: Investigator Award, Clinical Research, American College of Chest Physicians, CHEST Foundation 1993: Campbell Howard Prize, Clinical Medicine, McGill University 1993: Dr. A Macdonald Award, Medicine, McGill University 1990: James Q Bliss Prize, Medical Physiology, McGill University 1986-1989: Dean’s List, Harvard College 1986-1989: Harvard College Scholarship, Harvard College Ad hoc reviewer: New England Journal of Medicine JAMA The Lancet The Lancet Respiratory Medicine British Medical Journal Nature Clinical Practice American Journal of Medicine American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine American Journal of Respiratory Cellular Molecular Biology Annals of the American Thoracic Society Asthma and Allergy Proceedings Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Chest Clinical and Experimental Allergy Thorax Drug Safety The Pharmacogenomics Journal Respiratory Care Journal Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine European Respiratory Journal Journal of Asthma Revista Portuguesa de Pneumologia, Portuguese Journal of Pulmonology The Medical Letter Recent Patents on Anti-Infective Drug Discovery Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine Rheumatology Arthritis and Rheumatism Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research European Respiratory Review Expert Review of Respiratory Medicine Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation Board Certification 1993 (Recertified 2018) Advanced Cardiac Life Support, certification by American Heart Association 1993 (Recertified 2018) Basic Cardiac Life Support, certification by American Heart Association 2000: Certificate, Clinical Effectiveness, Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health 1999 (Recertified 2009): Diplomate, Subspecialty of Critical Care Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine 1998 (Recertified 2009): Diplomate, Subspecialty of Pulmonary Disease, American Board of Internal Medicine 1996: Diplomate, American Board of Internal Medicine Professional Memberships 2019-present: NHLBI Data Safety Monitoring Board Member. Anti-inflammatory Lipid Mediators in Asthma 2017: National Jewish/University of Colorado Pulmonary Senior Scientific Strategy Committee 2017: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Effective Healthcare Program Peer Reviewer 2017: United Kingdom Medical Research Council Grant Review Committee 2016-present: National Jewish Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Executive Committee 2016-present: World Allergy Organization, Collaboration on Severe Asthma (COSA) Advisory Board 2016-present: Member, Data and Safety Monitoring Board, Sentien Biotechnologies, Inc. A Multi-center, Randomized, Sham-controlled, Double-blind, Ascending-dose Study of Extracorporeal Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Therapy (SBI-101 therapy) in Subjects with Acute Kidney Injury Receiving Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) 2015-present: NHLBI Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network (RDCRN) Data Safety Monitoring Board Member 2014: ATS Taskforce on OTC epinephrine for bronchospasm 2013-present: Member, NIH sponsored Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) for the Therapeutic Strategy for LAM study group (1UH2TR000961-01). “Saracatinib in LAM (SLAM)” 2013-present: Member, National Jewish Health Grant Writing Committee. 2012-present: Medical Licensure, State of Colorado 2012-present: Member, National Jewish Health International Collaboration Committee 2012-present: Member, American Society for Clinical Investigation 2012-present: Member, International Eosinophil Society2011-2012 Member, NIH Taskforce Investigating Research in Eosinophilic Disorders (TREAD) 2010-present: Steering Committee European Respiratory Society Taskforce on the Diagnosis and Management of Churg-Strauss Syndrome 1993-present: Member, Massachusetts Medical Society 2002-2005: Member, American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology 2003-2012: Steering Committee, NIH/NHLBI Severe Asthma Research Program 2003-2004: Chairman, Ethics Sub-Committee, NIH/NHLBI Asthma Clinical Research Network (ACRN)/Asthmanet 2000-present: Steering Committee, NIH/NHLBI Asthma Clinical Research Network (ACRN)/Asthmanet 1996-2000: Member, American College of Chest Physicians 1993-1999: Member, American Medical Association Publications Wechsler ME, Szefler SJ, Ortega VE, Pongracic JA, Chinchilli V, Lima JJ, Krishnan JA, Kunselman SJ, Mauger D, Bleecker ER, Bacharier LB, Beigelman A, Benson M, Blake KV, Cabana MD, Cardet JC, Castro M, Chmiel JF, Covar R, Denlinger L, DiMango E, Fitzpatrick AM, Gentile D, Grossman N, Holguin F, Jackson DJ, Kumar H, Kraft M, LaForce CF, Lang J, Lazarus SC, Lemanske Jr. RF, Long D, Lugogo N, Martinez F, Meyers DA, Moore WC, Moy J, Naureckas E, Olin JT, Peters SP, Phipatanakul W, Que L, Raissy H, Robison RG, Ross K, Sheehan W, Smith LJ, Solway J, Sorkness CA, Sullivan Vedder L, Wenzel S, White S, Israel E, NHLBI AsthmaNet. Step-up Therapy in Blacks with Inadequately Controlled Asthma. N Eng J Med. 2019. 381:1227-39 Steinfeld J, Bradford ES, Brown J, Mallett S, Yancey SW, Akuthota P, Cid MC, Gleich GJ, Jayne D, Khoury P, Langford CA, Merkel PA, Moosig, F, Specks U, Weller PF, Wechsler ME. Evaluation of clinical benefit from treatment with mepolizumab for eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2019 (in press) Bleecker ER, Wechsler ME, FitzGerald JM, Menzies-Gow A, Wu Y, Hirsch I, Goldman M, Newbold P, Zangrilli JG. Baseline Patient Factor Impact on the Clinical Efficacy of Benralizumab for Severe Asthma. Eur Respir J. 2018. 18;52(4) Wechsler ME, Akuthota P, Jayne D, Khoury P, Klion A, Langford CA, Merkel PA, Moosig F, Specks U, Cid MC, Luqmani R, Brown J, Mallett S, Philipson R, Yancey SW, Steinfeld J, Weller PF, Gleich GJ, the EGPA Mepolizumab Study Team. Mepolizumab or placebo for eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis. N Eng J Med. 2017. 376:1921-1932 Cahill KN, Katz HR, Cui J, Lai J, Kazani S, Crosby-Thompson A, Garofalo D, Castro M, Jarjour N, DiMango E, Erzurum S, Trevor JL, Shenoy K, Chinchilli VM, Wechsler ME, Laidlaw TM, Boyce JA, Israel E. KIT Inhibition by Imatinib in Patients with Severe Refractory Asthma. N Eng J Med. 2017; 376:1911-1920 Hospital Affiliations Colorado Acute Long Term HospitalRose Medical CenterSt. Joseph Hospital - DenverSwedish Medical Center Website Information Asthma Program Conflicts of Interest National Jewish Health physicians and scientists may collaborate with pharmaceutical or other industries to develop medical and scientific breakthroughs or to provide education on trends in quality medical practice and outcomes to physicians and health professionals around the country. National Jewish Health maintains a strict conflict of interest policy to ensure that all potential conflicts are clearly visible and that management plans are put in place in order to further innovation and education while ensuring the protection of our patients and the integrity of our research. National Jewish Health publicly discloses any payment to our physicians or scientists. View this faculty member’s industry relationships and collaborations. Ask a Question through Patient Portal Sign in to your My National Jewish Health patient portal account to communicate with your care team, manage appointments, and more. Create an Account Contact Information Office: 877.225.5654Fax: 303.398.1780 Email: WechslerM@njhealth.org Locations National Jewish Health Main Campus 1400 Jackson St. Denver, CO 80206 Saint Joseph Hospital 1835 Franklin Street Denver, CO 80218 Patient Ratings The Patient Rating score is an average of all responses to care provider related questions on our independent rating system, the Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Survey. This survey is about the patient care experience and does not address crucial characteristics like medical decision-making, prescribing the best therapy, and patient outcomes. Responses are measured on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best score. Learn more about our patient satisfaction survey. Provider showed concern 4.9 Friendliness 4.9 Spoke using clear language 4.9 Provider explained things clearly 4.9 Amount of time spent with you 4.9 Provider included you in decisions 4.9 Confidence in your doctor 5 Likelihood of recommending this provider 5 Comments Comments are collected in our Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Surveys. Patients are de-identified to protect confidentiality and patient privacy. Learn more about our patient satisfaction survey. National Jewish Health Patient– April, 2019 He's one of the best minds treating [my condition]. I wouldn't want anyone else. National Jewish Health Patient– April, 2019 It is always a pleasure to see Dr. Wechsler - he has had a profoundly positive impact on my quality of life and he is a distinct pleasure to meet with, be treated by. National Jewish Health Patient– March, 2019 This Doctor is outstanding and really cares.