Research in our lab focuses on how airway mucins regulate respiratory health and disease. Two secreted mucins--MUC5AC and MUC5B--are the predominant macromolecular components of airway mucus. MUC5AC and MUC5B regulate host mucosal defense in health, but their excessive or aberrant expression is associated with transient infections and with a wide range of lung diseases such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary fibrosis, and lung cancer.