Seminar at CMM
- Time:
- Location:
- CMM Lecture Hall, Visionsgatan 18, floor 00, L8:00 Karolinska University Hospital
- Speaker:
- Amr H. Sawalha, Division Director, Rheumatology and Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, University of Pittsburgh; Director, Lupus Center of Excellence, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
- Topic:
- From genes to environment: Epigenetic regulation and gene-environment interactions in lupus
Amr Hakam Sawalha:
“From genes to environment: Epigenetic regulation and gene-environment interactions in lupus”
Thursday 10 September, 15:00
CMM lecture hall
- Speaker: Amr H. Sawalha, Division Director, Rheumatology and Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, University of Pittsburgh; Director, Lupus Center of Excellence, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
- Topic: From genes to environment: Epigenetic regulation and gene-environment interactions in lupus
- Date and time: 10 September 2026, 15:00
- Venue: CMM Lecture Hall, Visionsgatan 18, floor 00, L8:00 Karolinska University Hospital
- Host: Professor Maja Jagodic, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet and CMM Group Leader
Professor Sawalha will also serve as an opponent on Yanan Han’s dissertation on 11 September at 9:30 in the CMM Lecture Hall.
Speaker’s short biography
Amr H. Sawalha, MD is Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, Vincent Londino Endowed Chair, and Director of the Lupus Center of Excellence at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC. He is an internationally recognized physician-scientist whose research has increased our understanding of the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms underlying systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and other autoimmune diseases.
Dr. Sawalha’s work has been instrumental in defining how DNA methylation, chromatin regulation, and gene-environment interactions contribute to lupus pathogenesis. His group was the first to demonstrate that naïve CD4+ T cells in lupus are epigenetically poised for exaggerated type I interferon responses, providing a mechanistic explanation for the prominent interferon signature observed in SLE. He has also identified epigenetic changes associated with lupus nephritis, discovered ethnicity-specific epigenetic susceptibility loci, and helped establish DNA methylation markers with diagnostic potential. His research further revealed a key role for the epigenetic regulator EZH2 in autoimmune disease and provided a rationale for targeting epigenetic pathways therapeutically.
Dr. Sawalha has received numerous honors, including the American College of Rheumatology’s Charles L. Christian Award for a Significant Advance in Understanding Lupus and election to the Association of American Physicians. His seminar will highlight advances in understanding how genetic susceptibility and environmental influences converge through epigenetic mechanisms to drive lupus development and progression.