notypes and established genetic influences, our research is aimed at uncovering how similarities and differences between these traits could synergistically improve our understanding of genomic regulation of the human immune system.
B.Sc., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 2000
Ph.D., Pathology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, 2010
Postdoctoral Studies, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, 2012
Honors and Awards
|1999-present||Member, Golden Key National Honor Society|
|2008-2009||Barrett Predoctoral Scholarship Fund Award|
|2008||Notable Poster Award, American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting, San Francisco, CA|
|2009||Paul Kimmelstiel Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Research and Presentation Skills, Department of Pathology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center|
|2009||American College of Rheumatology Research and Education Foundation/Abbott Health Professional Graduate Student Research Preceptorship Award|
|2010||Paul Kimmelstiel Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Research and Presentation Skills, Department of Pathology, OUHSC|
|2010||Graduate Student Association Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement, OUHSC|
|2010||Outstanding Graduate Award (for a 4.0 GPA), OUHSC|
|2010||Notable Poster Award, American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting, Atlanta GA|
|2011-present||Visiting Professor, Center for Autoimmune Disease Research (CREA), Universidad Del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia|
|2011||OMRF Outstanding Paper Award for FY 2010-2011|
|2015||Notable Translational Abstract, EULAR 2015 (Rome, Italy)|
|2016||J. Donald and Patricia Capra Award for Scientific Achievement|
|2020||European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) E-Congress Basic Science Abstract Award|
American Society of Human Genetics, 2007-present
American College of Rheumatology, 2016-present
American Academy of Neurology, 2015-2016
Joined OMRF Scientific Staff in 2014
Joachims ML, Leehan KM, Dozmorov MG, Georgescu C, Pan Z, Lawrence C, Marlin MC, Macwana S, Rasmussen A, Radfar L, Lewis DM, Stone DU, Grundahl K, Scofield RH, Lessard CJ, Wren JD, Thompson LF, Guthridge JM, Sivils KL, Moore JS, Farris AD. Sjögren's Syndrome Minor Salivary Gland CD4 Memory T Cells Associate with Glandular Disease Features and have a Germinal Center T Follicular Helper Transcriptional Profile. J Clin Med 9, 2020 July, PMID: 32650575, PMCID: PMC7408878
Agasing AM, Wu Q, Khatri B, Borisow N, Ruprecht K, Brandt AU, Gawde S, Kumar G, Quinn JL, Ko RM, Mao-Draayer Y, Lessard CJ, Paul F, Axtell RC. Transcriptomics and proteomics reveal a cooperation between interferon and T-helper 17 cells in neuromyelitis optica. Nat Commun 11:2856, 2020 June, PMID: 32503977, PMCID: PMC7275086
Verstappen GM, Ice JA, Bootsma H, Pringle S, Haacke EA, de Lange K, van der Vries GB, Hickey P, Vissink A, Spijkervet FKL, Lessard CJ, Kroese FGM. Gene expression profiling of epithelium-associated FcRL4 B cells in primary Sjögren's syndrome reveals a pathogenic signature. J Autoimmun 109:102439, 2020 May, PMID: 32201227
Lessard CJ, Adrianto I, Kelly JA, Kaufman KM, Grundahl KM, Adler A, Williams AH, Gallant CJ; Marta E. Alarcón-Riquelme on behalf of the BIOLUPUS and GENLES Networks, Anaya JM, Bae SC, Boackle SA, Brown EE, Chang DM, Criswell LA, Edberg JC, Freedman BI, Gregersen PK, Gilkeson GS, Jacob CO, James JA, Kamen DL, Kimberly RP, Martin J, Merrill JT, Niewold TB, Park SY, Petri MA, Pons-Estel BA, Ramsey-Goldman R, Reveille JD, Song YW, Stevens AM, Tsao BP, Vila LM, Vyse TJ, Yu CY, Guthridge JM, Bruner GR, Langefeld CD, Montgomery C, Harley JB, Scofield RH, Gaffney PM, Moser KL. Identification of a systemic lupus erythematosus susceptibility locus at 11p13 between PDHX and CD44 in a multiethnic study. Am J Hum Genet. 2011 Jan 7;88(1):83-91. Epub 2010 Dec 30. PMID: 21194677 PMCID: PMC3014359
Lessard CJ, Adrianto I, Ice JA, Wiley GB, Kelly JA, Glenn SB, Adler AJ, Li H, Rasmussen A, Williams AH, Ziegler J, Comeau ME, Marion M, Wakeland BE, Liang C, Ramos PS, Grundahl KM, Gallant CJ, Alarcón-Riquelme ME, Alarcón GS, Ana