Lab Discoveries

Autoimmune diseases are notoriously difficult to diagnose due to clinical and molecular heterogeneity across patients and frequent overlap with other diseases. Methods for diagnosis often require multiple panels of expensive and time-consuming tests. In a proof-of-concept study published in Science, researchers from multiple institutions, including Drs. Judith James and Joel Guthridge, collaborated with Dr. Scott Boyd at Stanford University to develop an innovative framework for diagnosing immunological conditions. The novel method named Mal-ID (machine learning for immunological diagnosis), integrates B and T cell receptor sequencing with protein language models to successfully distinguish between healthy individuals and those with autoimmune diseases (such as lupus and type-1 diabetes), viral infections (including HIV and COVID-19), and recent flu immunization, achieving an area under the curve of 0.98 and significantly outperforming existing methods. This study highlights the potential of BCR and TCR sequencing as a multi-disease diagnostic tool, which, with further validation, could be adapted for clinical use, potentially facilitating early diagnosis and improving patient outcomes. Read the entire article here.

Dr. Judith James and Dr. Eliza Chakravarty, in collaboration with the NIAID-funded Autoimmunity Centers of Excellence, have discovered that lupus patients experiencing remission may be able to safely taper off certain commonly prescribed therapeutics. In this study, Drs. James and Chakravarty determined the effects of  mycophenolate mofetil withdrawal in patients with quiescent SLE. During a clinical trial spanning six years, they discovered that patients who stopped taking mycophenolate mofetil were not significantly inferior to those who remained on the drug, as long-term usage of mycophenolate mofetil leads to increase risk of infection, malignancies, gastritis, miscarriages, or severe birth defects. Overall, this study will help rheumatologists guide their patients through the risks and benefits of stopping medication, while also setting up for ongoing studies to better predict which patients will experience problems going off medication. Read the article here.  Read OMRF's Press Release here.

Our very own, Aleksandra Bylinska, a graduate student and PhD Candidate received the newly established "Emerging Investigator Excellence Award" for her abstract titled "Single-cell Multi-omic Evaluation of Differences in Immune Cell Populations in Progression Toward Systemic Lupus Erythematosus" submitted to the annual American College of Rheumatology meeting. The Emerging Investigator Excellence Award recognizes outstanding abstracts presented by investigators at an early stage in their career, and will be acknowledged at the annual meeting in November. Congratulations Ola!

The American College of Rheumatology is a nonprofit association of physicians, health professionals, and scientists working to advance the specialty of rheumatology. Dr. Judith James was nominated for ACR’s Awards of Distinction by her colleagues for her outstanding contributions to the field of rheumatology. Read more about Dr. James’s award Here.

In October 2022, Dr. James became the first woman from an Oklahoma institution to be elected into the prestigious National Academy of Medicine. Dr. James received this honor by being "a pioneer in the field of autoimmunity" and "significantly advancing the understanding of how autoimmune diseases start and how immune responses evolve". Check out the article written by The Oklahoman and the announcement from The National Academy of Medicine.

The prestigious honorary medical society elected Dr. Judith James in April of 2021. Dr. James remarked, "This recognition from the AAP is truly a nod to the work accomplished by my wonderful research team that includes many investigators, research staff, analytic personnel, clinicians, clinical personnel and trainees." Read more here.

Our very own Dr. Guthridge speaks on how OMRF is keeping employees safe and labs running in these stories from KFOR and the Oklahoman. Check it out here: KFOR The Oklahoman

OMRF scientists Eliza Chakravarty, M.D., and Melissa Munroe, M.D., Ph.D., were also recognized for outstanding abstracts at the meeting. Their separate projects focused on better understanding aspects of the autoimmune disease lupus. Chakravarty helped lead a multi-site NIH trial to determine whether patients can safely stop taking a lupus medication — mycophenolate mofetil — associated with numerous side effects. The study determined that patients with stable disease may be able to stop the medication without added risk of disease flare. Read  Dr. Chakravarty's abstract HERE Munroe’s project examined specific inflammatory and regulatory imbalances in the blood that may help clinicians better predict and identify which relatives of lupus patients will go on to develop the condition. Read Dr. Munroe's abstract HERE

Read more about these effort here and visit the following links for even more press on the topic: OMRF news KFOR The Oklahoman OKC FOX 25 The OU Daily  

The Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award recognizes the outstanding achievements of ASCI members in advancing knowledge in a specific field and in mentoring future generations of life science researchers. The recognition, which was first known as the ASCI Award, was renamed in 2006 in honor of Dr. Stanley J. Korsmeyer, a dedicated and accomplished physician-scientist and mentor who was the first recipient in 1998 and who passed away in 2005. The recipient of the annual Award is provided with a $20,000 honorarium and presents the Korsmeyer Lecture at the Society’s annual meeting. Read more about this outstanding accomplishment here.  

Recent findings from OMRF have revealed molecular clues that will allow doctors to separate Sjögren’s syndrome patients into three distinct categories, allowing for more targeted treatment approaches. Read more about this exciting discovery here.

This week, Dr. James received the Evelyn V. Hess Award from the Lupus Foundation of America to recognize her exceptional contributions in her 25 years as a lupus physician and researcher. James was also selected by the American College of Rheumatology to give the Paul Klemperer Lectureship at this year’s conference. Read more here.

Dr. Jog was awarded for her studies on the Contribution of Dysregulated Granulopoiesis to SLE Pathogenesis. Dr. Jog is a cellular immunologist who has applied her knowledge in basic neutrophil biology to understanding the underpinnings of autoimmune disease.  Congratulations, Neelakshi!   Learn more about this research project here.

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