CTSI Distinguished Seminar Series

Levitt lecture at UB.

CTSI Distinguished Seminars feature important topics in clinical and translational science presented by outstanding, and sometimes world-renowned, speakers.

Through the Seminar Series, UB's Clinical and Translational Science Institute is partnering with the five health sciences schools and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center to sponsor a round of visiting scholars in the forefront of their respective disciplines. The goal is to expose faculty, trainees and students to various pathways in clinical and translational research.

Upcoming Speaker

Dr. PJ Utz.

Autoantibodies in COVID-19

PJ Utz, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean for Medical Student Research, 

Stanford University

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

In-person seminar/Virtual via zoom.

4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Autoimmune diseases have long been postulated to be triggered by infections with a diverse cadre of pathogens, including bacteria such as streptococci, viruses including HIV, EBV and dengue, and other microorganisms.

The scale of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has generated large cohorts of patients and extensive banks of biospecimens which has created an unprecedented opportunity to test the hypothesis that a specific pathogen can induce new autoimmune manifestations or can exacerbate pre-existing autoimmunity.

The Utz lab has used multiplexed protein microarrays to characterize autoantibodies in acute COVID-19, long CIVID (termed post acute sequelae of COVID-19, PASC), infections with other respiratory pathogens, and in vaccine responses. Anti-cytokine antibodies (ACA) are commonly observed in severe COVID-19 and in pre-pandemic samples from patients with ARDS. A subset of ACA block cytokine signaling by preventing binding to their cognate receptors.

This talk will focus on the ever-expanding link between autoimmunity and infection.

Past Speakers

June 1, 2022

John B Hognesch.
John B. Hogenesch, PhD

Professor of Pediatrics, Divisions of Human Genetics and Immunobiology
Genetics Chair, Systems Biology
Interim Director, Division of Human Genetics
Director, Center for Circadian Medicine
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
University of Cincinnati

"Building Circadian Medicine at a Pediatric Hospital"

April 6, 2022

Randall Urban, MD.
Randall J. Urban, MD

Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Vice President and Chief Research Officer, Office of the Provost
Vice Dean of Clinical Research, School of Medicine
Director, Institute for Translational Sciences
Principal Investigator, Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA)
University of Texas Medical Branch

"Similar Chronic Symptoms After COVID and Traumatic Brain Injury: Do PASC and BIAFAC Share Common Mechanisms?"

December 1, 2021

Stephanie O'Malley, PhD.
Stephanie O'Malley, PhD

Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson Professor of Psychiatry
Deputy Chair
Clinical Research
Yale School of Medicine

"Effective Strategies for Maintaining Research Participation in Clinical Trials"

October 6, 2021

Dario Vignali, PhD.
Dario Vignali, PhD

Distingushed Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Immunology, Leader, Cancer Immunology Program, Co-Director, Tumor Microenvironment Center, Scientific Director, Fondazione Ri.MED, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh 

"Immune Inhibitory Mechanisms in Cancer"

May 10, 2021

Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of California San Francisco

"Virtual Screens of Billion Compound Libraries for Novel Ligands with New Pharmacology"

Dec. 7, 2020

Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiologist/Medical Director of VCU Healthcare Infection Prevention Program, Department of Internal Medicine

"COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons learned and will we be better prepared next time?" (watch presentation here)

Dec. 1, 2020

Professor, University of Rochester Medical Center

"The Road to a COVID-19 Vaccine" (watch presentation here)

Nov. 17, 2020

Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

"The Pursuit of Structurally Competent Research to Achieve Health Equity" (watch presentation here)

Oct. 29, 2018

University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

"Iron in the Fire: The role of oxidized linoleic acid metabolites in pain"

Co-hosted by the School of Dental Medicine

Feb. 1, 2018

Herbert Irving Assistant Professor of Biomedical Informatics
Director, Clinical Informatics, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center
Columbia University

Co-hosted by the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Oct. 5, 2017

Director of the National Institutes of Health
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
(NIDCR)

Co-hosted by the School of Dental Medicine

May 2, 2017

Winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2013)
Department of Structural Biology
Stanford Univ. School of Medicine

Co-hosted by the Department of Biomedical Informatics

March 31, 2017

Associate Professor
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
Department of Family and Community Health

Co-hosted by the School of Nursing

Feb. 10, 2017

Thomas Francis Jr. Collegiate Professor
University of Michigan School of Public Health
Department of Epidemiology

Co-hosted by the School of Public Health and Health Professions