Paul Utz

Clinical Focus

• Immunology and Rheumatology
• Rheumatology

Administrative Appointments

• Acting MSTP Associate Director, Medical Science Training Program, Stanford University School of Medicine (2009 - 2010)
• Member, Committee on Professionalism, Performance, and Promotion, Stanford University School of Medicine (2009 - present)
• Member, Cardiovascular Institute Steering Committee, Stanford University School of Medicine (2007 - 2010)
• Secretary/Treasurer, FOCIS, Federal of Clinical Immunology Societies (2008 - present)
• Board of Directors, Northern California Arthritis Foundation (2008 - present)
View All 13administrative appointments of Paul Utz

Honors and Awards

• Elected Member, American Society for Clinical Investigation (2007)
• Elected Member, The Kunkel Society (2006)
• Divisional Teaching Award, Stanford University (2002)
• Department of Medicine Teaching Award, Stanford University School of Medicine (2008)
• Baxter Fellowship, Donald and Delia Baxter (2000)

Professional Education

Postdoctoral Advisees

Alvina Chu , Chih Liu

Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations

• Biomedical Informatics
• Immunology
• Medicine
• Cardiovascular Medicine

Community & International Work

• Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program, SIMR (formerly CCIS), Stanford University 
• Stanford EXPLORE, Stanford Univeristy 
• CCIS Summer Student Intern Program, Stanford University 

Web Site Links

• Utz Lab at Stanford

Industry Relationships

Stanford is committed to ethical and transparent interactions with our industry partners. It is our policy to disclose payments of $5,000 or more, equity valued at $5,000 or more in a publicly traded company, or any equity in a privately held company, to physicians and scientists employed by Stanford University from companies or other commercial entities with which they interact as part of their professional activities. View Full Information

Research Interests

We are part of the Department of Medicine, Division of Immunology at Stanford University School of Medicine. Our lab is located in the brand new CCSR building, room 2215. We are interested in autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), scleroderma, myositis, primary biliary chirosis (PBC), Sjogren's disease, insulin dependent diabetes (type I diabetes or IDDM), multiple sclerosis (MS) and mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD). The Utz lab is comprised of approximately 12 scientists, including Postdoctoral Fellows, Research Assistants, Undergraduate Students and Graduate Students. The focus of our research centers on serum autoantibodies produced in a variety of autoimmune diseases. In addition to trying to better understand the pathogenic mechanisms involved in autoimmunity, we are interested in developing bench-to-bedside technologies, including diagnostics and therapeutics, for human autoimmune diseases.

The four major goals of our studies are:

(1) To understand the mechanisms by which highly-conserved, diverse molecules and complexes such as histones and splicing particles are targeted by T and B lymphocytes and to determine how an immune response directed against ubiquitous antigens leads to organ-specific autoimmune disease.

(2) To use autoimmune sera as molecular probes to study basic cellular processes, particularly apoptosis signaling pathways, alternative RNA splicing, and endoplasmic reticulum protein transport.

(3) To invent and validate novel technologies for high-throughput, multiplex proteomics signaling molecules and studies. We are currently focusing on proteomics analysis of proteins secreted by immune cells, including cytokines and autoantibodies.

(4) To take advantage of the information provided by autoantibody profiling methods to develop antigen-specific tolerizing therapies for common autoimmune diseases. We collaborate closely with the Stanford laboratory...

Clinical Trials

• Imatinib in Systemic Sclerosis Recruiting

Publications

• Naive CD4 t cell proliferation is controlled by mammalian target of rapamycin regulation of GRAIL expression. Lin JT, Lineberry NB, Kattah MG, Su LL, Utz PJ, Fathman CG, Wu L. J Immunol. 2009; 182 (10): 5919-28
• Treatment with a Toll-like receptor inhibitory GpG oligonucleotide delays and attenuates lupus nephritis in NZB/W mice. Graham KL, Lee LY, Higgins JP, Steinman L, Utz PJ, Ho PP. Autoimmunity. 2009
• Cholinergic modulation of angiogenesis: Role of the 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Wu JC, Chruscinski A, De Jesus Perez VA, Singh H, Pitsiouni M, Rabinovitch M, Utz PJ, Cooke JP. J Cell Biochem. 2009; 108 (2): 433-46
• Failure of oral atorvastatin to modulate a murine model of systemic lupus erythematosus. Graham KL, Lee LY, Higgins JP, Steinman L, Utz PJ, Ho PP. Arthritis Rheum. 2008; 58 (7): 2098-104
• Cytokines secreted in response to Toll-like receptor ligand stimulation modulate differentiation of human Th17 cells. Kattah MG, Wong MT, Yocum MD, Utz PJ. Arthritis Rheum. 2008; 58 (6): 1619-29