Allergy/Immunology Rheumatology Division Faculty
Allen Anandarajah, M.D.
• Assistant Professor of Medicine
• Clinical Practice: Adult Rheumatology, Osteoporosis, DEXA scanning; Early
Arthritis Clinic
• Clinical Research: Dr. Anandarajah has several clinical research interests. He is currently developing and validating a MRI scoring system for rheumatoid arthritis. The scoring system will be used to evaluate changes in MRI findings following anti-TNF therapy in patients. He is also interested in studying generalized bone loss in psoriatic arthritis.
Jennifer Anolik, M.D., Ph.D.
• Assistant Professor of Medicine
• Clinical Practice: Adult Rheumatology, Lupus Clinic
• Basic Research:
Dr. Anolik’s research interests include the role of B cells in the pathophysiology of human systemic lupus and the study of new immuno-modulatory treatments for lupus. As part of the research group at the University of Rochester she has been one of the pioneers in the use of B-cell depletion for the therapy of autoimmune diseases and investigation of the effects of B cell depletion on immune function in SLE patients. She has also pioneered the use of tonsil biopsy as a means of probing immune dysregulation in autoimmune diseases, including SLE and RA.
Andrea Bottaro, Ph.D.
• Assistant Professor of Medicine
• Basic Research: Dr. Bottaro's research interests include B cell activation, the molecular biology of antibody gene expression and reconbination, immunoglobulin class switching and trangenic/knock-out mouse models.
• Publications
Luojing Chen, Ph.D.
- Research Assistant Professor of Medicine
- Basic Research:
Dr. Chen’s research interests involve B cell signaling pathways. Dr. Chen’s laboratory is currently focusing on the role of PKK (a protein kinase) in lymphoma and lupus diseases.
James Kobie, Ph.D.
• Research Assistant Professor of Medicine
• Basic Research: Dr. Kobie is the Co-Director of the Center for Biodefence of Immunocompromised Populations. Dr. Kobie’s research interest include studying CD4 T cells and their contribution to the generation of effective anti-tumor immune responses and their translational applications for the development of cancer vaccines. He is also examining the effect of pregnancy and pregnancy-related factors on the differentiation of CD4 T cells. In collaboration with Dr. Ignacio Sanz he is studying the development of B cells that give rise to HIV specific antibodies capable of neutralizing a broad range of HIV isolates to elucidate strategies to generate effective HIV vaccines.
Igor Kuzin, M.D., Ph.D.
• Research Instructor
• Basic Research: Dr Kuzin is currently working on two major research projects. The goal of his first project is to elucidate the mechanisms that regulate expression and recombination of immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) genes. Specifically, he is interested in the role of enhancer specificity in the IgH locus regulation. There are several enhancer elements within IgH locus. One of the best characterized is intronic Em enhancer, which plays a role in regulation of gene transcription, VDJ recombination, somatic hypermutation, and immunoglobulin class switching. In his studies, to address the role of enhancer specificity in the regulation of IgH locus activity, he and his lab have created transgenic mice bearing either a deletion of the Em core element or replacement of the same element with the strong, ubiquitous SV40 transcriptional enhancer. The phenotype of these transgenic mice is currently under investigation.
The goal of the second project is to develop an artificial in vitro system for the induction of antibody immune response by cultivated human lymphocytes. He uses specially designed bioreactors in which human lymphocytes isolated from donor tonsils are propagated, and explore various conditions that would be optimal for the induction of primary and secondary antibody immune responses to a variety of antigens. These studies have potential clinical application.
R. John Looney, M.D.
• Professor of Medicine and Environmental Medicine
• Clinical Practice: Adult Rheumatology as well as Adult and Pediatric Allergy/Immunology
• Education: Director of the Allergy/Immunology Fellowship Program
• Basic Research: Dr. Looney's research interests include aging and immunity, follicular dendritic cells, immune effects of pregnancy, and the biology of synovial fibroblasts.
• Publications
Christopher Ritchlin, M.D.
• Associate Professor of Medicine; Director Clinical Immunology Research Center
• Clinical Practice: Adult Rheumatology, Early Arthritis Clinic
• Education: Director Rheumatology Fellowship Training Program
• Research: Director, Clinical Immunology Research Center
The focus of Dr. Ritchlin’s laboratory is directed towards understanding the mechanisms that underlie pathologic bone resorption and new bone formation in psoriatic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Using a translational approach, investigators in his lab are analyzing the cell surface molecules expressed by osteoclast and dendritic cell precursors with the goal to identify susceptibility and response biomarkers in patients with inflammatory arthritis. The lab is also studying the effect of anti-TNF agents on dendritic cell differentiation in RA and PsA patients. In addition, collaborative studies are underway with the lab of Dr. Eddie Schwarz to understand the mechanisms that are responsible for bone marrow edema as recorded on magnetic resonance imaging scans in inflammatory arthritis. The bulk of this work is performed in animal models but insights gained from these studies are applied to the study of human joint diseases such as psoriatic and rheumatoid arthritis. In the Clinical Immunology Research Unit, patient oriented research is conducted on multiple levels. Investigator New Drug (IND) trials of novel agents (adalimumab, rituximab) in the treatment of PsA and AS have been completed or are about to start. Additional trials have been performed to study the effect of TNF inhibition on the frequency of osteoclast precursors and enhancing bone marrow edema in PsA. The Unit also conducts multicenter trials with novel biologic agents such as rituximab and abatacept in PsA with special attention directed towards understanding how these agents alter bone remodeling in these disorders. Additional studies underway include microanalysis assays of synovium, skin and intestinal tissues in patients with Immune Mediated Inflammatory Disorders (IMIDs) before and after TNF inhibition. Future plans include the development of ultrasound outcome measures in collaboration with Dr. Ralf Thiele and Dr. Darren Tabechian, to assess synovial, lymph node and periarticular tissue responses to different therapies in inflammatory arthritis.
Ignacio Sanz, M.D.
• Professor, Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology
• Chief, Allergy/Immunology & Rheumatology Division
- Clinical Practice: Adult Rheumatology, Lupus Clinic
- Research:
Director of the Rochester Autoimmunity Center of Excellence-The Rochester Autoimmune Center of Excellence supports innovative approaches to the study and treatment of autoimmune diseases.
Director of the Rochester Center for Biodefense of Immunocompromised Populations-Through the efforts of the Rochester Center of Biodefense of Immunocompromised Populations, our understanding of normal human immune function and of the abnormalities induced by chronic TNF blockade will be enhanced. The Rochester Autoimmune Center of Excellence supports innovative approaches to the study and treatment of autoimmune diseases.
Dr. Sanz's current research interests and efforts are focused examining human B cell development, function and tolerance. He is also exploring the use of B cell depletion in the treatment of autoimmune diseases and is attempting to identify new biomarkers for Sjogrens syndrome.
- Publications
Darren Tabechian, M.D.
• Assistant Professor of Medicine
• Clinical Practice: Adult Rheumatology; Musculoskeletal Ultrasound, Early Arthritis Clinic
• Musculoskeletal ultrasound website: http://www.urmc.edu/MEDICINE/air/rmup/
• Research:
• Publications
Ralf Thiele, M.D.
• Assistant Professor of Medicine
• Clinical Practice: Adult Rheumatology; Musculoskeletal Ultrasound, Early Arthritis Clinic
• musculoskeletal ultrasound website: http;//www.urmc.edu/MEDICINE/air/rmup/
• Research: Dr. Thiele is actively involved in Clinical Research.
Chungwen Wei, Ph.D.
• Research Assistant Professor of Medicine
• Research: Dr. Wei's research interests include the study of human B cell development and anergy through immunophenotyping utilizing polychromatic flow cytometry, gene expression profiling and functional analysis.
• Publications:
Emeritus Faculty
John Baum, M.D.
• Professor Emeritus, Medicine and Pediatrics
• Clinical Practice: Adult and Pediatric Rheumatology
• Publications
John Leddy, M.D.
• Professor Emeritus of Medicine
• Publications
Stephen Rosenfeld, M.D.
- Professor Emeritus of Medicine
- Clinical Practice: Precept Allergy/Immunology Fellows
Allergy/Immunology & Rheumatology Division Associated Faculty
Adult and Pediatric
John Condemi, M.D.
• Clinical Professor of Medicine
• Clinical Practice: Adult Rheumatology and Allergy/Immunology
• Clinical Research: Clinical Trials
Robert Holzhauer, M.D.
• Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics
• Clinical Practice: Pediatric Allergy/Immunology
Mariola Kubicka, M.D.
• Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
• Clinical Practice: Pediatric Allergy/Immunology
Donald Pulver, M.D.
• Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine
• Clinical Practice: Adult and Pediatric Allergy/Immunology; Fiberoptic Rhinolarygoscopy
Emmanuel Quaidoo, M.D.
• Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine
• Clinical Practice: Adult Rheumatology and Allergy/Immunology
David Siegel, M.D.
• Professor of Pediatrics
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