Martin S. Zand

Dr. Zand's research program is focused the role of B cells in alloimmune responses in solid organ transplantation and the adaptive immune response to biopathogens. NIH funded work includes:

1. The University of Rochester Clinical & Translational Science Institute: The major goal of this project is to improve the health of the population by advancing basic, translational and clinical research through providing education and training, supporting trans-disciplinary teams, and engaging community stakeholders.
2. Modeling Immune Desensitization in Renal Transplantation: This project will develop and validate an ordinary differential equation model to predict the effects of plasma exchange therapy, intravenous immunoglobulin, and anti-B cell agents on anti-ABO blood group antibodies in patients undergoing immune desensitization prior to kidney transplantation from an ABO incompatible donor.
3. Modeling B Cell Vaccine Responses in Transplant Recipients: The goal of this study is to model plasma cell differentiation using data generated from an in vitro system and a branching stochastic process method, and vaccine responses in kidney transplant recipients. The work involves both murine and human experiments using FACS and transcriptome analysis to test the hypothesis that circulating Bc populations in renal transplant recipient vaccine responders and non-responders have different activation kinetic rates and phenotypes.

In addition, members of the Nephrology Faculty are involved in a number of industry sponsored studies.