SOTA 12: Biological Function and Clinical Relevance of Antibodies to Transplantation Antigens
Chair
Paul Terasaki
He developed the micro lymphocytotoxicity test in 1964, which was adopted in 1970 as the international standard method of tissue typing. Tissue typing trays were supplied to the transplant community by his UCLA laboratory from 1968 to 1984, and after 1984 by One Lambda. He was Professor of Surgery at UCLA from 1969 to 1999, when he retired and started work at his foundation. He was elected to the Presidency of the International Histocompatibility Society, the International Transplant Society, and the American Society of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. Among his honors are: the Medawar Prize from the International Transplant Society, the Karl Landsteiner and the Emily Cooly Award from the American Association of Blood Banks, and the Phillip Levine Award from the American Society of Clinical Pathologists. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Paris, Sorbonne. He published over 868 articles and edited the Clinical Transplants annual series of books for the last 25 years.
Chair
Howard Gebel
Howard M. Gebel, Ph.D., is a Professor of Pathology and Co-Director of the Histocompatibility and Molecular Immunogenetics Laboratory at Emory University. Dr. Gebel is a recognized expert in histocompatibility testing and has published extensively in this area for the past 30 years. He sits on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Transplantation, Transplantation Immunology and Human Immunology and is a member of the medical advisory board of the National Kidney Registry. Dr. Gebel’s major area of interest is the clinical relevance of HLA alloantibodies
Speaker
Elaine Reed
Dr. Elaine F. Reed is Professor of Pathology at the University of California, Los Angeles and Director of the UCLA Immunogenetics Center. She directs the research and clinical activities of the UCLA Immunogenetics Center and serves as Vice Chair of Research Services for the Department of Pathology. Dr. Reed’s research interests over the last 20 years have focused on mechanisms of antibody-mediated acute and chronic allograft rejection. Her recent research studies demonstrated that anti-HLA antibodies can contribute to the development of chronic rejection by triggering intracellular signaling cascades that culminate in endothelial cell and smooth muscle cell survival and proliferation. Her work has delineated the signaling pathways leading to cell proliferation and cell survival, providing the opportunity for the development of therapeutic strategies. Dr. Reed is an active member of the American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, American Association of Immunologists, American Society of Transplantation, Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies, International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, and The Transplantation Society. She serves on the editorial boards of Human Immunology and Transplant Immunology.
Speaker
Samantha Fidler
Samantha Fidler is a Senior Medical Scientist in the Department of Clinical Immunology, PathWest, Royal Perth Hospital which provides a comprehensive clinical and diagnostic service in all aspects of clinical immunology including transplantation immunogenetics providing laboratory support for kidney, heart, liver and bone marrow transplant programs. She is also the National Tissue Typing Coordinator for the Australian Paired Kidney Exchange Program. She is a member of the Western Australian Kidney Transplant Service, APHIA, ASHI, AND EFI. Samantha has been involved in research in the area of immunogenetics for seventeen years, including the areas of solid organ and bone marrow transplantation. Her current research is focussed on detection of HLA and non-HLA antibodies by solid phase assays and their clinical relevance in renal transplantation.
Speaker
Duska Dragun
Bio coming soon.
Speaker
Ron Kerman
Ron Kerman received his PhD in Immunology from the University of Illinois followed by a post-doctoral Fellowship in Transplantation Immunology at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He is Professor of Surgery and Director of the Histocompatibility and Immune Evaluation Laboratories in The Division of Immunology and Organ Transplantation at The University of Texas Medical School in Houston. He has served on the Boards of Directors of The American Society for Histocompatobility and Immunogenetics and The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. He is a Past President of The American Society of Transplantation and was a member of the first UNOS Histocompatibility Committee. Dr Kerman serves on several transplantation journal editorial and review boards. His investigative interests include histocompatibility testing and clinical correlation; impact of race on immune responder status; immune parameters delineating long term graft survivors and delineation of recipient hyporesponsiveness.