Biography
Professor Robert A. Harris
Professor Robert A. Harris (Bob) was born in Harpenden in Southern UK in 1966. He conducted a Bsc.Hons undergraduate degree at Portsmouth Polytechnic, majoring in Parasitology in 1987. PhD studies at University College London studying innate immune agglutinins in Schistosoma host snail species with Terry Preston and Vaughan Southgate as supervisors culminated with a thesis defence in early 1991. A 2.5 year postdoc at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in Paul Kaye’s research group ensued, with focus on understanding the intracellular fate of Leishmania spp. protozoans in macrophages. Bob was awarded a Wellcome Trust postdoctoral fellowship that permitted his relocation to the Karolinska Institutet (Stockholm, Sweden) in the spring of 1994. A postdoc period was spent split between the labs of Anders Örn and Tomas Olsson, in which he studied Trypanosoma cruzi and Trypanosoma bruceii protozoan proteins. Bob became an Associate Professor at the Karolinska Institutet in 1999, heralding his establishment as a PI. Bob started to work with autoimmune diseases in 1996 and began study of therapy using live parasite infections or parasite molecules. His research group has developed autoantigen-specific vaccines, defined the effects of post-translational biochemical molecules on autoantigenicity and developed a macrophage adoptive transfer therapy that prevents pathogenesis in several experimental disease models. He became Professor of Immunotherapy in Neurological Diseases in 2013. In recent years research focus has centred on understanding the immunopathogenesis of incurable neurodegenerative diseases, with particular emphasis on development of immunotherapies directed at microglial cells as potential therapeutic paradigms.
Bob Harris CV July 2020
ERIK HERLENIUS GROUP
Development of autonomic control
About
Immature or deficient autonomic control is a common problem in infants born at a premature age and is of central importance in apneas, secondary hypoxic brain damage and sudden infant death syndrome.
PER ERIKSSON GROUP
Research
For better understanding of disturbances in respiratory control we study early development of cardiorespiratory control, brainstem neural networks and its associations with normal and pathological breathing. The conceptual change introduced by our recent data that endogenous prostaglandins are central pathogenic factors in respiratory disorders and the hypoxic response, open new diagnostic and therapeutic avenues that should significantly better the diagnostics and treatment of newborns and adult patients.
Inflammation is a major culprit in breathing disorders and we hypothesize that by using a newly developed urinary prostaglandin biomarker we can screen, detect and protect against inflammation related breathing disorders.
Our collaborative efforts enable us to move from a clinical problem to molecular understanding of the disease and studies are performed in patients, animal & in vitro models.
Our research is focused on the development of autonomic control with normal and paediatric patients as the target. Autonomic dysfunction in breathing and circulatory control often has its origin in neurodevelopment disorders. Furthermore, our basic research in developmental neuroscience how neural activity and stem cells form activity dependent networks is vital for the development of therapeutic interventions.
Read more
Contact: communication@cmm.se
CENTER FOR MOLECULAR MEDICINE
INGRID LUNDBERG GROUP
Myositis research
About
Idiopathic inflammatory myopathy, myositis
Conditions associated with muscle inflammation are called inflammatory myopathies or myositis. Myositis is characterised mainly by muscle weakness, low muscle endurance and muscle pain.
Our main research goal
The aim of our research is to gain increased knowledge of the causes of myositis and the mechanisms that lead to muscle weakness and also to the high incidence of inflammation in both skeletal muscle and lungs in order to provide patients with the best possible treatment. The basis for our research projects is longitudinal studies of patients with myositis. By combining clinical outcome measures with investigations of molecular expression in repeated muscle biopsies and in peripheral blood after different interventions, pharmacological therapies, and physical exercise we hope to increase the understanding of these diseases. Another aim is to understand why both the muscle and the lung becomes a target of the immune system for certain patients.
To accomplish our goals we combine clinical epidemiological research with molecular research on patient samples and we use experimental systems with muscle cell cultures. Our research is performed at the Center for Molecular Medicine (CMM), Karolinska Institutet. We follow patients at Karolinska University Hospital in a systematic way. In addition we are part of a Swedish Myositis Network (SweMyoNet) and of an international myositis network (MyoNet), www.myonet.eu, where Professor Ingrid E. Lundberg is PI and we contribute to the international myositis registry EuroMyositis, www.euromyositis.eu, in which more than 5000 patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies have been enrolled. We are also part of several international collaborations.
Research areas
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Physical exercise studies
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Longitudinal studies on clinical material to predict biomarkers for prognosis
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Epidemiological studies to identify risk factors and comorbidities
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New treatments are being tested in clinical trials
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Pathogenic studies of new target molecules
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The association between inflammation in muscles and lung
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Malignancy and myositis
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Specific autoantibodies and its importance
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Cardiac studies
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Genetic studies to identify risk factors
When contributing to our research activities, please state: Myositis research, Ingrid Lundberg.
PhD theses from the group
2018
Quan Tang (2018-08-31)
Immune mechanisms in chronic rheumatic muscle inflammation, myositis
2017
John Svensson (2017-12-15)
Epidemiologic studies on rheumatic muscle inflammation, myositis
Joan Raouf (2017-02-21)
PGE2 and other lipids in rheumatic diseases
2016
Louise E. Ekholm (2016-11-08)
Autoantibodies and the type I interferon system in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies
Cátia Cerqueira (2016-01-28)
Studies on the role of autoantibodies and autoantigens in rheumatoid arthritis and myositis
2014
Mei Bruton (Zong) (2014-09-19)
Molecular mechanisms in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies
Jayesh M. Pandya (2014-08-12)
T cell subsets and disease mechanisms in inflammatory myopathies
Malin Regardt (2014-04-29)
Hand function, activity limitation and health-related quality of life in patients with polymyositis and dermatomyositis
2013
Li Alemo Munters (2013-10-25)
Physical exercise as a targeted therapy in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies
2012
Ingela Loell (2012-05-24)
Polymyositis And Dermatomyositis - Inflammation, Muscle Structure & Immunosuppressive Treatment
2009
Christina Dorph (2009-01-30)
Studies on interleukin-1 in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies
2008
Cecilia Wick (Grundtman) (2008-04-07)
Pathogenic mechanisms in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies
2007
Sevim Barbasso Helmers (2007-11-02)
The role of autoantibodies in inflammatory myopathies
Andreas Fasth (2007-11-16)
Maryam Dastmalchi (2007-10-12)
Studies of immunopathogenic mechanisms and treatment of chronic, inflammatory myopathies, myositis
2006
Maryam Fathi (2006-11-17)
Interstitial lung disease in polymyositis and dermatomyositis
2003
Helene Alexanderson (2003-08-22)
Exercise and outcome measures in patients with polymyositis and dermatomyositis
Snjolaug Arnardottir (2003-05-15)
Studies in sporadic inclusion body myositis
2002
Adla B. Hassan (2002-11-28)
Pernilla Englund (Nyberg) (2002-11-14)
Immunopathogenic mechanisms in inflammatory myopathies
2001
Christer Malm (2001-09-21)
Immunological changes in human blood and skeletal muscle in response to physical exercise
Gerdur Gröndal (2001-08-22)
Selected publications
Full publication list at PubMed.
Lundberg IE, Fujimoto M, Vencovsky J, Aggarwal R, Holmqvist M, Christopher-Stine L, Mammen AL, Miller FW. Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2021 Dec 2;7(1):86.
Lundberg IE. Expert Perspective: Management of Refractory Inflammatory Myopathy. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2021 Aug;73(8):1394-1407.
Bianchi M, Kozyrev SV, Notarnicola A, Hultin Rosenberg L, Karlsson Å, Pucholt P, Rothwell S, Alexsson A, Sandling JK, Andersson H, Cooper RG, Padyukov L, Tjärnlund A, Dastmalchi M; ImmunoArray Development Consortium; DISSECT Consortium, Meadows JRS, Pyndt Diederichsen L, Molberg Ø, Chinoy H, Lamb JA, Rönnblom L, Lindblad-Toh K, Lundberg IE. Contribution of Rare Genetic Variation to Disease Susceptibility in a Large Scandinavian Myositis Cohort. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2022 Feb;74(2):342-352.
Espinosa-Ortega F, Holmqvist M, Dastmalchi M, Lundberg IE, Alexanderson H. Factors Associated With Treatment Response in Patients With Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies: A Registry-Based Study. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2022 Mar;74(3):468-477.
Galindo-Feria AS, Horuluoglu B, Day J, Fernandes-Cerqueira C, Wigren E, Gräslund S, Proudman S, Lundberg IE, Limaye V. Autoantibodies against Four-and-a-Half-LIM Domain 1 (FHL1) in Inflammatory Myopathies: Results from an Australian Single-Center Cohort. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2022 Jan 12:keac003.
Ernste FC, Chong C, Crowson CS, Kermani TA, Mhuircheartaigh ON, Alexanderson H. Functional Index-3: A Valid and Reliable Functional Outcome Assessment Measure in Patients With Dermatomyositis and Polymyositis. J Rheumatol. 2021 Jan 1;48(1):94-100.
Leclair V, Moshtaghi-Svensson J, Regardt M, Hudson M, Lundberg IE, Holmqvist M. Distribution and trajectory of direct and indirect costs of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2021 Oct;51(5):983-988.
Che WI, Westerlind H, Lundberg IE, Hellgren K, Kuja-Halkola R, Holmqvist M. Familial aggregation and heritability: a nationwide family-based study of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. Ann Rheum Dis. 2021 Nov;80(11):1461-1466.
Dani L, Ian Che W, Lundberg IE, Hellgren K, Holmqvist M. Overall and site-specific cancer before and after diagnosis of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: A nationwide study 2002-2016. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2021 Feb;51(1):331-337.
Seto NL, Torres-Ruiz JJ, Carmona-Rivera C, Pinal-Fernandez I, Pak K, Purmalek MM, Hosono Y, Fernandes-Cerqueira C, Gowda PC, Arnett N, Gorbach A, Benveniste O, Gómez-Martín D, Selva-O'Callaghan A, Milisenda JC, Grau-Junyent JM, Christopher-Stine L, Miller FW, Lundberg IE, Kahlenberg JM, Schiffenbauer AI, Mammen AL, Rider LG, Kaplan MJ. Neutrophil dysregulation is pathogenic in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. JCI Insight. 2020 Jan 16.
Galindo-Feria AS, Albrecht I, Fernandes-Cerqueira C, Notarnicola A, James EA, Herrath J, Dastmalchi M, Sandalova T, Rönnblom L, Jakobsson PJ, Fathi M, Achour A, Grunewald J, Malmström V, Lundberg IE. Proinflammatory Histidyl-Transfer RNA Synthetase-Specific CD4+ T Cells in the Blood and Lungs of Patients With Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2020 Jan;72(1):179-191.
Rothwell S, Chinoy H, Lamb JA, Miller FW, Rider LG, Wedderburn LR, McHugh NJ, Mammen AL, Betteridge ZE, Tansley SL, Bowes J, Vencovský J, Deakin CT, Dankó K, Vidya L, Selva-O'Callaghan A, Pachman LM, Reed AM, Molberg Ø, Benveniste O, Mathiesen PR, Radstake TRDJ, Doria A, de Bleecker J, Lee AT, Hanna MG, Machado PM, Ollier WE, Gregersen PK, Padyukov L, O'Hanlon TP, Cooper RG, Lundberg IE; Myositis Genetics Consortium (MYOGEN). Focused HLA analysis in Caucasians with myositis identifies significant associations with autoantibody subgroups. Ann Rheum Dis. 2019 Jul;78(7):996-1002.
Adams RA, Fernandes-Cerqueira C, Notarnicola A, Mertsching E, Xu Z, Lo WS, Ogilvie K, Chiang KP, Ampudia J, Rosengren S, Cubitt A, King DJ, Mendlein JD, Yang XL, Nangle LA, Lundberg IE, Jakobsson PJ, Schimmel P. Serum-circulating His-tRNA synthetase inhibits organ-targeted immune responses. Cell Mol Immunol. 2021 Jun;18(6):1463-1475.
Tjärnlund A, Tang Q, Wick C, Dastmalchi M, Mann H, Tomasová Studýnková J, Chura R, Gullick N, Salerno R, Rönnelid J, Alexanderson H, Lindroos E, Aggarwal R, Gordon, Vencovský J, Lundberg IE. Abatacept in the treatment of adult dermatomyositis and polymyositis: a randomized, Phase IIb treatment delayed-start trial. Ann Rheum Dis, 2018 77:55-62.
Lundberg IE, Tjärnlund A, Bottai M, Werth VP, Pilkington C, Visser M, Alfredsson L, Amato AA, Barohn RJ, Liang MH, Singh JA, Aggarwal R, Arnardottir S, Chinoy H, Cooper RG, Dankó K, Dimachkie MM, Feldman BM, Torre IG, Gordon P, Hayashi T, Katz JD, Kohsaka H, Lachenbruch PA, Lang BA, Li Y, Oddis CV, Olesinska M, Reed AM, Rutkowska-Sak L, Sanner H, Selva-O'Callaghan A, Song YW, Vencovsky J, Ytterberg SR, Miller FW, Rider LG; International Myositis Classification Criteria Project consortium, The Euromyositis register and The Juvenile Dermatomyositis Cohort Biomarker Study and Repository (JDRG) (UK and Ireland). 2017 European League Against Rheumatism/American College of Rheumatology classification criteria for adult and juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies and their major subgroups. Ann Rheum Dis. 2017 Dec;76(12):1955-1964.
Albrecht I, Wick C, Hallgren Å, Tjärnlund A, Nagaraju K, Andrade F, Thompson K, Coley W, Phadke A, Diaz-Gallo LM, Bottai M, Nennesmo I, Chemin K, Herrath J, Johansson K, Wikberg A, Ytterberg AJ, Zubarev RA, Danielsson O, Krystufkova O, Vencovsky J, Landegren N, Wahren-Herlenius M, Padyukov L, Kämpe O, Lundberg IE. Development of autoantibodies against muscle-specific FHL1 in severe inflammatory myopathies. J Clin Invest. 2015 Dec;125(12):4612-24.