Elizabeth Mellins
Academic Appointments
- Professor - Med Center Line, Pediatrics - Human Gene Therapy
- Member, Bio-X
- Member, Child Health Research Institute
Key Documents
Contact Information
- Academic Offices
Personal Information Email Tel (650) 498-7350
Professional Overview
Administrative Appointments
- Advisory Board, Nature Reviews Rheumatology (2005 - present)
- Developer and co-Director, Introduction to Medicine for PhDs, Stanford School of Medicine (2001 - present)
- Member, Medical and Scientific Advisory Council, Arthritis Foundation (national) (2003 - 2006)
- Member,CMB-I StudySection, NIAID, NIH (2002 - 2007)
Honors and Awards
- Within Our Reach grant recipient, ACR Research & Education Fund (2007)
- Distinguished Service Award, American Association of Immunologists (2005)
Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations
Community and International Work
Scientific Focus
Current Research Interests
Our lab focuses on the study of antigen presentation by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules. We have been particularly interested in the molecular mechanisms and intracellular steps involved in the generation of complexes between MHC class II molecules and peptides. Our work in this area has elucidated the roles of invariant chain and HLA-DM, two molecules which regulate peptide-loading of class II molecules. In addition, we have investigated the molecular basis of class II associations with autoimmune diseases. Ongoing studies deal with:
1. Analysis of the biosynthesis, structure, and structure/function relationships of the HLA-DM and HLA-DO molecules.
2. Regulation of class II-restricted antigen presentation by professional antigen presenting cells.
3. Mechanistic basis of HLA allele association with autoimmune disease
4. Disease mechanisms in systemic idiopathic juveile arthritis
Publications
- HLA-DO acts as a substrate mimic to inhibit HLA-DM by a competitive mechanism. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2013; (1): 90-8
- Host-derived CD4+ T cells attenuate stem cell-mediated transfer of autoimmune arthritis in lethally irradiated C57BL/6.g7 mice. Arthritis Rheum. 2013; (3): 681-92
- Pulse-chase analysis for studies of MHC class II biosynthesis, maturation, and peptide loading. Methods Mol Biol. 2013: 411-32
- Susceptibility to childhood onset rheumatoid arthritis: Investigation of a weighted genetic risk score that integrates cumulative effects of variants at five genetic loci. Arthritis Rheum. 2013
- A new era in the treatment of systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis. N Engl J Med. 2012; (25): 2439-40
- Alternative activation in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis monocytes. Clin Immunol. 2012; (3): 362-72
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