News & Events - Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology

Flu: Interferon-gamma from T follicular helper cells is required to create lung-resident memory B cells

Lung-resident memory B cells produced during influenza are long-living immune cells that migrate to the lungs from draining lymph nodes and lie in wait as early responders that can quickly react to future infections. They are key sentinels against subsequent[…]

Osteoporosis: UAB-led study approved for a $13.9 million award to investigate prevention of bone fractures

$Osteoporosis: UAB-led study approved for a $13.9 million award to investigate prevention of bone fractures$ The study, funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, will compare two pathways of post-fracture patient care.

$6.9 million awarded to UAB to continue knee osteoarthritis research

$46 million awarded by NIH to UAB and partners allows researchers to continue following participants enrolled in the national Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study.

New cancer therapy being studied at UAB could one day offer complete radiation treatment in milliseconds

Flash radiation therapy delivers an ultra-fast, ultra-high burst that has the same deadly effect on tumors with fewer side effects for patients.

What could you do with a 3D printer? 12 fellow Blazers show off their projects

Using machines at UAB Libraries or in their own units, staff, students and faculty are making tools for their research projects, classrooms and HVAC units campuswide. See their work and find out how you can get started.

How interleukin-6 helps prevent allergic asthma and atopy by suppressing interleukin-2 signaling

Knowledge of this previously unrecognized mechanism may aid therapy for patients with interleukin-6 signaling mutations and hyper-IgE Syndrome, or HIES.

How cadmium-induced inflammation increases the severity and mortality of lung infections

Description of this mechanism offers a promising therapeutic target to limit lung injury and death. Lower respiratory tract infections, including bacterial pneumonia, are the fourth-leading cause of death worldwide, with 120 million to 156 million cases and 1.4 million deaths[…]

Memory B cell marker predicts long-lived antibody response to flu vaccine

These effector memory B cells appear poised for a rapid serum antibody response upon secondary challenge one year later, and evidence shows that the cells in this subset differ from all previously described memory B cell subsets.

4 appointed to endowed positions

The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees voted to appoint one chair and three professors to endowed positions during its Feb. 3 meeting. Those honored are Jeffery Walker, Lewis Shi, Farah Lubin and Brant Wagener.

Saag Concludes 2022 ACR Conference

Dr. Ken Saag, 2022 ACR PresidentKen Saag, MD, MSc, delivered a stirring presidential address at the American College of Rheumatology annual meeting in October 2022. While COVID-19 continues to pose special risks to immunocompromised patients, he said, it is beginning[…]

Diversity Supplement Spurs Leask's Investigation of Molecular Mechanism of Gout

Megan Leask, Ph.D., InstructorMegan Leask, Ph.D., has received an NIH/NIAMS Competitive Diversity Supplement for an existing R01 awarded to Dr. Richard Reynolds for her research titled, "Functional and Integrative OMICS of Recurrent Gout Flares.” Leask is Indigenous Māori from New[…]

10 Novel Genetic Loci in Osteoarthritis Identified

Dr. Jasvinder Singh, senior authorMany genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have begun the work of identifying genetic loci of osteoarthritis. This study, comprised of 484,374 participants from diverse ancestries and ethnicities, is a major step toward addressing the underrepresentation of non-European[…]

UAB Rheumatology Marks Two Decades in USNWR Top 12

Kenneth Saag, M.D., Msc, delivering the Presidential Address at the 2022 American College of Rheumatology Annual MeetingThe UAB Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology has been ranked among the best in the nation by the U.S. News & World Report[…]

UAB patient shares difficult experience to warn others of the dangers of scleroderma

One UAB patient uses her transformational story to spread awareness of scleroderma.

With eight highly ranked specialties, U.S. News again calls UAB best hospital in Alabama

U.S. News & World report named UAB Hospital as the best hospital in Alabama.

UAB rheumatology care expands to Hoover clinic

UAB rheumatologists will begin seeing patients at the UAB Hoover Primary Care clinic in July 2022.

Infrared cameras added to telemedicine visits for arthritis patients

As part of a study funded by Pfizer, Inc., UAB will partner with Whitfield Hospital in Demopolis and John Paul Jones Hospital in Camden to evaluate how thermography cameras can improve telemedicine visits for arthritis patients in rural Alabama.

22 faculty receive grants to fund developmental projects

The UAB Faculty Development Grant Program supports junior faculty with funding to pursue research, creative works and scholarly activity.

Heart disease in black individuals: Two elevated biomarkers distinguish Blacks with resistant hypertension from whites

Blacks face much greater rates of heart disease than do whites. A wider study is needed to further investigate this racial difference and identify potential therapeutic targets.

Curtis Aims to Use Virtual Reality to Care for Patients with RA

Dr. Jeffrey Curtis wants to use virtual reality to help patients with rheumatoid arthritis experience how the disease may worsen over time in the future to improve shared decision making about their treatment choices in the present.

Singh Sheds Light on JAK Inhibitor Debate

How can physicians help patients with rheumatoid arthritis when methotrexate fails? It was hoped that a new class of oral medication held the answer, but the FDA issued a black box warning for JAK inhibitors last year citing major adverse[…]

Danila Reaches Rheumatology Patients with Telemedicine

Maria I. Danila, MD, MSc, MSPH Our understanding of how to best use telemedicine for rheumatology patients began with our need to care for patients with chronic illness during the height of the COVID pandemic.

UAB Provides ACR with Top Leaders and Learners

The American College of Rheumatology is the premier society for the advancement of rheumatology in the U.S. This year’s ACR President, a newly designated Master, and a Distinguished Fellow all call UAB home.

How LPS prevents or promotes development of asthma and allergic disease by airborne allergens

A detailed mechanistic study unravels how the bacterial endotoxin LPS prevents or promotes allergic disease.

UAB researchers are part of a $3 million award to learn how to better treat lupus in Black patients

Lupus, an autoimmune disease that can attack any part of the body, can be confounding because patients often respond differently to the same treatment, and they vary widely in the severity of their symptoms.

$100 million in contributions to transform UAB School of Medicine

Record $95 million Heersink lead gift to advance strategic growth and biomedical innovation.

Memory killer T cells are primed in the spleen during influenza infection

This finding upends the long-held paradigm that priming during lung infections takes place only in the draining lymph nodes, and it will be key to developing more efficient vaccinations and therapies for respiratory challenges.

Advantages of intranasal vaccination against SARS-CoV-2

Intranasal vaccination is needle-free and elicits immunity at the site of infection, the respiratory tract.

UAB’s new Immunology Institute provides new avenues for discovery

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the urgent need for enhanced study and discovery in the field of immunology.

More than 1,100 employees to be honored with annual service awards

This year, the university recognizes 50 years of service by Jeanne Hutchison, Ph.D., and Ferdinand Urthaler, M.D., and 45 years of service by Robert Kim M.D., and Joseph Lovetto. In addition, 294 employees with 20 or more years and 904[…]

Danila Receives Innovative Research Award for Study on Telemedicine

Associate Professor Maria Danila, MD, MSc, MSPH has received an Innovative Research Award from the Rheumatology Research Foundation. She will investigate how increased tele-rheumatology due to COVID-19 impacts the health outcomes of patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.

Division Recruits Internationally Renowned Gout Researcher

Dr. Tony MerrimanProfessor Tony Merriman, PhD, FRSNZ, joins our faculty from the University of Otago in New Zealand. Dr. Merriman is an internationally recognized scientist and leader in the genetic basis of gout and rheumatoid arthritis. Dr. Merriman's research interests[…]

Grateful Donors Accelerate RA Research through Cytometry Gift

Dr. Troy Randall with cytometry equipment. The idea that cells are the unit of life began when Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek looked under a microscope. He was the first to observe that tissues were composed of tiny chambers—cells—that worked[…]

BIGDATA Aims to Improve Outcomes in Rheumatoid Arthritis

According to a 2019 Pew Research Study, about one in five U.S. adults regularly wears a smart watch or wearable fitness tracker. This trend is producing a wealth of health data that can be leveraged to improve medial practice and scientific[…]

2020: The year in photos

Each year, UAB’s official photographers capture tens of thousands of images as they document the incredible variety of events and personalities that make up our community. Here are some of our favorite photos of some of the most dramatic months[…]

Singh receives $7.6 million in research funding for rheumatoid arthritis study

The study is funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

Rheumatology Research Foundation grant allows for advancement in telehealth

A recent grant to UAB researchers from a national organization will yield insight into telehealth and potentially increase patient access to rheumatic care.

Post COVID Treatment Program at UAB to help patients with persistent COVID-19 symptoms

A new multidisciplinary program within UAB Medicine will help evaluate patients who have recovered from COVID-19 but are still experiencing symptoms and link them to the specialized care they need.

Preclinical data for COVID-19 vaccine candidate show effectiveness and advantages

The vaccine candidate Altimmune’s AdCOVID potently stimulated neutralizing antibody and T cell responses, as well as mucosal immunity in the respiratory tract.

Saag named division director of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology

A long time UAB rheumatologist has been named director of division in the UAB School of Medicine.

BMT survivor study finds significant breast cancer risk in young women who received total body irradiation

Women who had total body irradiation to prepare for blood or marrow transplantation before age 30 had a 4.5-fold increase in their risk of developing breast cancer later in life.

Bridges named president of the Rheumatology Research Foundation

Bridges will serve a two-year term as president of a specialty research foundation.

Unrecognized genetic variation in research mouse models can affect immune cells

Unsuspected genetic variation among strains of mice can surreptitiously confound data results.

Machines help scientists spot new patterns in Alzheimer’s, cancer and more

Investigators attract major grants to use AI on failed drug trials, cell-free DNA and puzzling CT scans.

New Faculty Spotlight, Amanda Schnell, MD

We are delighted to welcome Amanda Schnell, MD, to the Division. Dr. Schnell has been appointed Assistant Professor of Medicine and will see patients in the Rheumatology Clinic at The Kirklin Clinic. As a clinician-educator, Dr. Schnell brings both compassion[…]

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