TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH

Although the primary emphasis of Immunology research has been to decipher the basic mechanisms governing immune responsiveness, newly discovered immunological principles and reagents developed to unravel them provide the bases for the development of novel therapeutic strategies that can be applied to patient care.

The best example of successful translation of immunologic discovery from the Department of Immunology is the antibody screening program developed by Dr. Lennon. A series of antibody-binding activities were defined that are associated with autoimmune syndromes. The presence of these characterized antibodies can be associated with underlying autoimmune pathologies such as myasthenia graves, Lambert-Eaton syndrome, and undiagnosed cancers. Identification of the kind of antibodies present is being used to categorize the syndromes. Dr. Lennon has developed a diagnostic laboratory that screens more than 100,000 patient serum samples annually. This activity is now coordinated by Mayo Medical Laboratories and the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology.