Physicians and scientists in the Duke Division of Rheumatology and Immunology are engaged in a variety of basic research initiatives designed to unlock the secrets of autoimmunity, which will lead, in turn, to more effective therapies.
A major focus of the basic research in our division is related to microparticles. Microparticles are emerging as important biomarkers for a wide variety of diseases throughout medicine.
Current basic research studies, led by David Pisetsky, MD, PhD, provide new analytic approaches to measure the presence of microparticles in blood and can be used to assess events in the pathogenesis of inflammatory, infectious, and malignant diseases.
In addition, our approaches can be used to study events in cell death and activation in model systems in animal models as well as culture systems.
Current Basic Research Studies
Current basic research studies in the division include:
- Microparticles as a Source of Nuclear Antigens in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)
- The Role of Sex in Self Antigen Generation in SLE
- Mechanisms of Autoimmunity in SLE