Tracking the evolution of pathogenic autoantibodies

Abstract

Autoimmune disease presents a major clinical challenge due to limited treatment options and difficulties predicting severe events like nephritis and lymphoma. Dr Reed’s presentation will focus on her work developing new technologies, including single cell DNA/RNA sequencing and combined mass spectrometry and massively parallel sequencing to address key clinical challenges for autoimmune disease. Her recent work has provided new insights into the evolution of pathogenic autoantibodies in patients with primary Sjogren’s syndrome and strategies for precision medicine approaches to selectively target pathogenic B cells.

Biography

A/Prof Joanne Reed leads the Autoimmunity and Amyloidosis Lab at the Westmead Institute and is an Adjunct Associate Professor at UNSW and University of Sydney. She completed her PhD in Immunology in 2009 at Flinders University in Adelaide. She then received a NHMRC CJ Martin Fellowship for postdoctoral positions at New York University and Australian National University, followed by a New South Wales Health Fellowship at the Garvan Institute. Joanne is currently the Peter Tosi research fellow and leading an NHMRC-funded translational research program focused on understanding the origins and pathogenesis of autoantibody-mediated autoimmune disease.