Dr. Castro is a Professor of Medicine, Vice Chair for Clinical and Translational Research, Department of Medicine, Chief, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC), and Director of the Frontiers: University of Kansas Clinical and Translational Science Institute and Adjunct Research Professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. He has been a leader of the CDC Controlling Asthma in American Cities, American Lung Association Airway Clinical Research Centers, and NHLBI Asthma Clinical Research Network, Severe Asthma Research Program, AsthmaNet and PrecISE research networks. His translational research projects in the Asthma and Airway Translational Research Unit (AATRU) are focused on the pathogenesis of asthma and treatment of asthma, especially in severe disease. Recently, Dr. Castro has spearheaded several initiatives to combat the COVID-19 pandemic: Lead investigator for NIH/NIAID-funded COVID-19 Prevention Trials Network (CoVPN trial), ACTIV-2 trial and the PCORNET HERO HCQ trial. He is the author of over 30 chapters/books and over 300 peer-reviewed articles; over the past 25+ years, Dr. Castro has trained over 40 junior clinical & translational scholars. He is widely recognized as an expert clinician, an excellent mentor, and skilled educator with a significant commitment to the development of young investigator’s careers.