Edward Wakeland

University of Texas, USA

Title: Common Features of Systemic Autoimmunity in Man and Mouse

Abstract:

Our previous analyses of murine models have characterized the interactions of genes in the adaptive and innate immune systems in the development of systemic autoimmunity. These studies have defined three separate pathways that mediate the transition from benign to pathologic autoimmunity. More recently, we have focused our studies on the characterization of genes mediating susceptibility to SLE in humans. Our ongoing analyses have identified several genes that play a role in predisposition to autoimmunity in both mouse and man.

Biography:

Edward Wakeland holds the Edwin L. Cox Distinguished Chair in Immunology and Genetics, is the Director of the Walter M. and Helen D. Bader Center for Research on Arthritis and Autoimmunity Diseases, and the founding Chairman of the Department of Immunology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Dr. Wakeland has studied the role of genetic predisposition as a cause of autoimmune disease. His research has focused predominantly on the creation and analysis of murine models  of autoimmunity, which have allowed him to delineate the interactions of genes in the innate and adaptive immune systems in the progression of systemic autoimmunity. More recently, he has begun to characterize the role of genetic predisposition in the development of SLE in humans.