Overview

In this lecture, we will explore the salient features of current immunosuppressive protocols. This will include an assessment of the relevant mechanisms of action and consequents of inadequate application of immunosuppression. The lecture will take a significant departure from traditional lectures which critically review the currently available immunosuppressive agents, exploring developing trends in immune modulation using co-stimulation blockers and anti-cytokine therapy.

We will also discuss an important biomarker that has emerged as a sentinel for inadequate immunosuppression. This is assessment of donor specific antibody levels. The impact of DSA development on allograft survival and loss will also be discussed. Finally, we will explore novel therapies aimed at prevention and treatment of DSA mediated injury.

Biography

Research directed by Stanley C. Jordan, MD, has led to major advances in diagnostic and treatment approaches in the care of patients receiving transplanted organs.

He developed a process that uses intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) to reduce the risk of rejection in difficult cases in which other medications have failed. He also created a technique to detect post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) in its earliest stages, when intervention is most effective. (PTLD is a form of cancer that can have catastrophic effects on children who receive donated organs.)

For more than two decades, Dr. Jordan has performed extensive research into various aspects of immunology and transplantation, funded by dozens of research grants and awards, including two prestigious National Institutes of Health controlled clinical trials in kidney transplantation grants. He has written hundreds of articles and abstracts published in scientific journals, presented findings at medical and scientific organizations and authored about two dozen book chapters.

He was appointed in 1998 to a task force assembled by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to advise Congress on the safety and efficacy of intravenous gammaglobulin products. He also served on another NIH/NIAID task force that was commissioned to develop research priorities for kidney transplantation for the 21st century. Among his numerous other appointments, he was a member of the American Society of Transplant Physicians/American Society of Transplant Surgeons task force on transplant tolerance induction in 1997.

Dr. Jordan maintains membership in local, national and international professional societies and has served on the editorial boards of numerous professional journals.

After receiving his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Dr. Jordan completed a pediatric internship and residency at the University of California, Los Angeles. He completed three fellowships: one in pediatric nephrology at UCLA, one in experimental pathology in the Department of Immunology at Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, and the third in dialysis and transplantation at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles.

He is board certified in pediatrics, pediatric nephrology and diagnostic laboratory immunology.