Dr. Shail Mehta joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine as an Assistant Professor on January 1, 2019.
His clinical interests are mycobacterial lung disease and bronchiectasis.
Along with Dr. Carlos Daughaday, he sees patients with nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease, many of whom also have bronchiectasis, in the Lung Center. These infections often require treatment for months to years and careful follow-up with physicians during this time. They have expertise in the long-term treatment and monitoring of these infections, as well the treatment of relapsed and resistant disease. Additionally, they see many patients with non-Cystic Fibrosis bronchiectasis who are at increased risk for lung infections. In the future, they anticipate being a site for clinical trials for patients with mycobacterial lung disease and bronchiectasis.
Dr. Mehta’s research interests include mycobacterial lung disease and Native American Health.
He has studied the effect of mycobacteria and Aspergillus co-infection (pathogens frequently co-existing in cystic fibrosis) in a mouse lung model. Currently, along with other investigators at WashU, he is studying the role of the human respiratory epithelium in the development of mycobacterial lung infections using an in-vitro model. He is interested in the cytokine/chemokine response of the respiratory epithelium to infection in both control and disease states such as COPD and CF, as well as the localization of mycobacteria within the respiratory epithelium.
Dr. Mehta will be establishing a longtudinal outreach program with the WashU medical school to Northern Navajo Medical Center (a federal hospital for Native Americans) in Shiprock, New Mexico, where he previously worked. He will provide consultative subspecialty services to a rural, Native American population and will study the impact on patient care and outcomes.