ALVIRA LAB - Key Persons
Endocrinologist Aaron Hsueh discovers obestatin, a hormone that supresses appetite and may lead to treatments for obesity.
Job Titles:
- Named Chair of Dept. of Neurology & Neurological Sciences
I am delighted to share that Antonio Omuro, MD, Professor of Neurology at the Yale University School of Medicine, has been appointed chair of the Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences. Dr. Omuro currently holds leadership roles spanning the Yale-New Haven Health Care System and the Yale School of Medicine, including as chief of Neuro-Oncology at Yale Cancer Center and founding director of the Yale Family Brain Tumor Center. He will begin his new role at Stanford on February 1, 2024.
Dr. Omuro is regarded as one of the foremost physician-scientists studying brain tumors. A fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, he has published more than 140 peer-reviewed research articles and led dozens of clinical trials focused on developing new treatments for brain tumors and neurologic complications of cancer. Recently, he led the development of immune-checkpoint inhibitors for glioblastoma from the first Phase 1 studies through the largest Phase 3 international clinical trial ever conducted in this disease.
Dr. Omuro also has a long track record of visionary leadership that has helped elevate Yale's neuro-oncology division to one of the strongest in its field while increasing patient visits to Yale Cancer Center by 74 percent. While at Yale, Dr. Omuro has fostered a culture of academic excellence, attracted and retained world-class faculty and research staff, led teams of clinicians and basic scientists in collaborative grants and projects, and embedded clinical trials throughout its practice. Critically, he also has championed diversity, equity, and inclusion by actively supporting Yale Cancer Center's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council.
Beyond research and clinical care, Dr. Omuro has made significant strides in cultivating the next generation neurology and neurological sciences leaders. For more than two decades, he has served as a highly respected teacher and mentor of students, residents, and fellows, particularly to women and those from underrepresented groups. Many are now highly influential in the field. Nationally, he has advised the American Academy of Neurology as a member of its Science Committee to design innovative educational activities and shape scientific standards for research conduct.
I want to express my deep appreciation to our search committee - co-led by Tina Stankovic, MD, PhD, and Michael Lim, MD - for conducting a comprehensive national search to fill this critical position. Both David Entwistle, president and CEO of Stanford Health Care, and Paul King, president and CEO of Stanford Medicine Children's Health, share my strong support of Dr. Omuro's appointment.
I also want to thank the interim chair of the Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Paul Fisher, MD. Dr. Fisher seamlessly stepped into this role on July 1 and has provided stability and strong leadership at a time of transition. I have the utmost confidence that he will continue to effectively bridge this transition.
Pharmacologist Avram Goldstein discovers a chemical in the human brain that could lead to the development of powerful painkillers with fewer undesirable side effects.
Dr. Alvira completed her medical school training at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. She came to Palo Alto to pursue residency training in pediatrics, and remained at Stanford to pursue subspecialty training in pediatric critical care medicine. During her clinical fellowship, she began working in the laboratory of Dr. Marlene Rabinovitch, a world leader in pulmonary vascular biology. It was during this time within Dr. Rabinovitch's lab that Dr. Alvira recognized her passion for science in general and vascular biology in particular, and continued to pursue extensive post-doctoral training in basic research after the completion of her clinical fellowship in 2005. Dr. Alvira transitioned to her own research program in 2010, and was appointed Assitant Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine in 2010. The Alvira Lab is currently funded by four active NIH R01 awards from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Alvira currently serves as the Associate DIrector of Basic Research for the Stanford Center for Excellence in Pulmonary Biology and the Director of the Stanford Physician Scientist Bridge to K Program.
Job Titles:
- PRESIDENT & CEO / STANFORD HEALTH CARE
Job Titles:
- Dean
- Head
- Physician
- Scientist
- Surgeon
- DEAN, STANFORD SCHOOL of MEDICINE
- Professor for the Dean
- Vice Dean Linda M. Boxer
Dean Minor is a leading physician, basic scientist and educator.
Lloyd B. Minor, MD, is a scientist, surgeon, and academic leader. He is the Carl and Elizabeth Naumann Dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine, a position he has held since December 2012. He also is a professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and a professor of Bioengineering and of Neurobiology, by courtesy, at Stanford University.
As dean, Dr. Minor plays an integral role in setting strategy for the clinical enterprise of Stanford Medicine, an academic medical center that includes the Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Health Care, and Stanford Medicine Children's Health. With his leadership, Stanford Medicine leads the biomedical revolution in Precision Health. His book, "Discovering Precision Health," describes this shift to more preventive, personalized health care and highlights how biomedical advances are dramatically improving our ability to treat and cure complex diseases. In 2021, Dr. Minor articulated and began realizing a bold vision to transform the future of life sciences at Stanford University and beyond - a multi-decade journey enabled by Precision Health.
Before Stanford, Dr. Minor was provost and senior vice president for academic affairs of Johns Hopkins University. Prior to this appointment in 2009, Dr. Minor served as the Andelot Professor and director (chair) of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and otolaryngologist-in-chief of The Johns Hopkins Hospital.
With more than 160 published articles and chapters, Dr. Minor is an expert in balance and inner ear disorders perhaps best known for discovering superior canal dehiscence syndrome, a debilitating disorder characterized by sound- or pressure-induced dizziness. He subsequently developed a surgical procedure that corrects the problem and alleviates symptoms.
In 2012, Dr. Minor was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
Carl and Elizabeth Naumann Professor for the Dean of the School of Medicine, Professor of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, and by courtesy, of Neurobiology & Bioengineering
Lloyd B. Minor, MD, is a scientist, surgeon, and academic leader. He is the Carl and Elizabeth Naumann Dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine, a position he has held since December 2012. He also is a professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and a professor of Bioengineering and of Neurobiology, by courtesy, at Stanford University.
As dean, Dr. Minor plays an integral role in setting strategy for the clinical enterprise of Stanford Medicine, an academic medical center that includes the Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Health Care, and Stanford Medicine Children's Health. He oversees the quality of Stanford Medicine's physicians on the faculty and in the growing clinical networks and physician practices.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Minor reacted quickly to implement protocols to ensure the safety of patients and of the Stanford Medicine community. He emphasized open communication, transparency, and accountability as he and the leadership team responded to the unprecedented challenges that affected every facet of the enterprise's activities.
With Dr. Minor's leadership, Stanford Medicine is leading the biomedical revolution through Precision Health. Empowering people to lead healthy lives, Precision Health is a fundamental shift to more proactive and personalized health care that predicts and prevents disease before it strikes and cures it decisively if it does. His book, "Discovering Precision Health: Predict, Prevent, and Cure to Advance Health and Well-Being," highlights how biomedical advances are dramatically improving our ability to treat and cure complex diseases.
Dr. Minor also spearheaded the creation of an Integrated Strategic Plan (ISP) that reaffirms Stanford Medicine's Precision Health vision while articulating a new commitment to be Human Centered and Discovery Led. An unprecedented roadmap, the ISP aligns Stanford Medicine's three entities, informs how each will develop strategies and make decisions, and is activating more than two dozen high-impact initiatives across Stanford Medicine.
In 2021, Dr. Minor articulated and began realizing a bold vision for transforming the future of life sciences at Stanford University, in the Bay Area, and beyond. This multi-decade journey will leverage the region's unique strengths in information sciences, technology, and biology and biomedicine to establish a biomedical innovation hub that through collaboration enhances fundamental understanding of biology and translates promising discoveries into transformative leaps that promote human and planetary well-being.
Dr. Minor has long provided significant support for basic science research and for clinical and translational research at Stanford. Through bold initiatives in medical education and increased support for MD and PhD students, Dr. Minor is committed to inspiring and training future leaders. He also has increased student financial aid and expanded faculty leadership opportunities.
Among other accomplishments Dr. Minor has led the development and implementation of an innovative model for cancer research and patient care delivery at Stanford Medicine and has launched an initiative in biomedical data science to harness the power of big data and create a learning health care system.
Before Stanford, Dr. Minor was provost and senior vice president for academic affairs of The Johns Hopkins University. As provost, Dr. Minor launched many university-wide initiatives such as the Gateway Sciences Initiative to support pedagogical innovation, and the Doctor of Philosophy Board to promote excellence in PhD education. He worked with others around the university and health system to coordinate the Individualized Health Initiative, which aimed to use genetic information to transform health care.
Prior to his appointment as provost in 2009, Dr. Minor was the Andelot Professor and director (chair) of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and otolaryngologist-in-chief of The Johns Hopkins Hospital. During his six-year tenure, he expanded annual research funding by more than half and increased clinical activity by more than 30 percent, while strengthening teaching efforts and student training.
With more than 160 published articles and chapters, Dr. Minor is an expert in balance and inner ear disorders. Through neurophysiological investigations of eye movements and neuronal pathways, his work has identified adaptive mechanisms responsible for compensation to vestibular injury in a model system for studies of motor learning (the vestibulo-ocular reflex). The synergies between this basic research and clinical studies have led to improved methods for the diagnosis and treatment of balance disorders. In recognition of his work in refining a treatment for Ménière's disease, Dr. Minor received the Prosper Ménière Society's gold medal in 2010.
In the medical community, Dr. Minor is perhaps best known for his discovery of superior canal dehiscence syndrome, a debilitating disorder characterized by sound- or pressure-induced dizziness. In 1998, Dr. Minor and colleagues published a description of the clinical manifestations of the syndrome and related its cause to an opening (dehiscence) in the bone covering the superior canal. He subsequently developed a surgical procedure that corrects the problem and alleviates symptoms.
Dr. Minor received his bachelor's and medical degrees from Brown University. He trained at Duke University Medical Center and the University of Chicago Medical Center and completed a research fellowship at the University of Chicago and a clinical fellowship at The Otology Group and The EAR Foundation in Nashville, Tennessee.
In 2012, Dr. Minor was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
As part of the Stanford Executive Briefing series, Minor shares his thoughts on authentic leadership and offers five leadership principles.
Job Titles:
- Life Science Research Associate
Dr. Toshie Saito received her MD degree from Gunma university's graduate school of medicine in Japan in 2000 and completed her internal medicine residency at Tokyo University and related hospitals in 2004. She started her career in basic science at Tulane University's department of physiology and hypertension center in 2007 and studied the renin-angiotensin system. She became interested in autoimmunity, and then she moved to the division of Rheumatology at Louisiana State University. She moved to Stanford University in 2011 and continued training in vascular pathology and immunology research and bioinformatics analysis of omics data. She joined Dr. Cristina Alvira's lab as a research professional in 2021. Toshie's research projects aim to elucidate underlying immunological mechanisms in normal lung development and the pathological condition bronchopulmonary dysplasia, which happens among prematurely born babies under ventilation. Currently, she focuses on lineage tracing of Mac I in the developmental stage using transgenic mice. She is also involved in bioinformatics analysis to understand cell-to-cell communication of diverse lineages of cells, including immune cells, endothelial cells, and mesenchymal cells. Her goal is to find critical immunological mechanisms in normal lung development and pathology of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, which will eventually lead to the discovery of innovative therapies for suffering patients.
Sleep researcher Emmanuel Mignot identifies the defective gene that causes narcolepsy, a disabling sleep disorder affecting humans and animals.
Pathologist Eugene Butcher discovers a receptor that guides white blood cells into the peripheral lymph nodes.
Pathologist Gerald Crabtree develops techniques that allow scientists to toggle genes on and off in animal models.
Immunologist Hugh McDevitt discovers regulatory genes believed to control the body's reponses to foreign proteins, which suggests that people may have predictable susceptibility to certain diseases.
Pathologist Irving Weissman isolates a rare mouse cell, known as the hematopoetic stem cell, which gives rise to all the cells of the blood and immune systems.
Pathologist Irving Weissman identifies the stem cell that gives rise to bladder cancer, and also shows how the cell uses the "don't-eat-me" signal, a molecule known as CD47, to evade the body's defenses.
Pathologist Irving Weissman shows that a single antibody, which counters the effect of the CD47 molecule, shrinks a variety of human tumors transplanted into mice.
Job Titles:
- Peter Wood Lead the First Large Clinical Investigation That Shows Lowering Cholesterol Levels Prevents Heart Disease
John Farquhar and Peter Wood lead the first large clinical investigation that shows lowering cholesterol levels prevents heart disease.
Job Titles:
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Judith received her Doctorate of Philosophy in physiology from Wayne State University School of Medicine. In the laboratory of Dr. Jennifer Condon, her dissertation examined the role of endoplasmic reticulum stress in the maintenance of myometrial quiescence. In July 2018, Judith joined the laboratories of Dr. Cristina Alvira and Dr. David Cornfield to continue her training as a Reproductive Physiologist. Her research is currently focused on elucidating the molecular mechanisms responsible for the transition of the myometrium from a quiescent to a contraction state, prior to the induction of term and preterm labor. Specifically, she is examining TRPV4-dependent activation and propagation of uterine inflammation and its contribution to myometrial contractility in murine models of preterm birth. When she is not in the laboratory, she enjoys reading, running, and morning coffee with her friends and family.
Pathologist Marius Wernig turns mouse skin cells into cells that insulate neurons with the application of just three genes.
Immunologist Mark Davis characterizes the T-cell receptor, believed to regulate the body's response to infectious agents and cancerous diseases.
Mary Gohlke receives the world's first combined heart and lung transplant in a landmark operation led by surgeon Bruce Reitz.
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant to Dean Lloyd Minor, MD, Office of the Dean, Chief of Staff
Job Titles:
- Life Science Research Associate
Dr. Min Liu joined the Alvira Laboratory at the Center for Excellence in Pulmonary Biology on January 2013. Her research focus is to explore the specific roles of the two NFκB activating kinases, IKKα and IKKβ on the migration and the cytoskeletal organization of pulmonary endothelial cells, with a particular interest in understanding how the NFκB pathway and Rho GTPases signaling networks regulate endothelial cell migration and angiogenesis. She also helps manage the lab and supervise students and postdocs. Out of the lab, she enjoys drawing, swimming and travelling.
Dr. Liu received her Ph.D. in Biology from University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Her postdoctoral research at Stanford University and School of Medicine and University of California, Davis focused on fungal vaccine development and microbial molecular Biology. Prior to join her doctoral program in US, she worked as an assistant professor and lecturer at Peking University Health Science Center in China.
Job Titles:
- Peter Wood Lead the First Large Clinical Investigation That Shows Lowering Cholesterol Levels Prevents Heart Disease
Job Titles:
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Racquel Domingo-Gonzalez obtained her Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2014. Her graduate work focused on understanding epigenetic and functional alterations in pulmonary immunity following stem cell transplant. Prior to joining the Alvira lab in the winter of 2018, Racquel pursued postdoctoral research at Washington University in St. Louis, studying the importance of lung innate immunity in multiple murine models of tuberculosis. Her postdoctoral research in the Alvira lab is currently focused on characterizing the lung immune compartment during alveolarization.
Surgeon Roy Cohn leads the first human kidney transplant operation on the West Coast.
Radiologist Sanjiv Gambhir develops a new type of imaging system that can illuminate tumors in living subjects with a precision of nearly one-trillionth of a meter
Job Titles:
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Dr. Rao completed her PhD in Molecular Medicine in December 2013 from The Medical University of Graz, Austria, under the mentorship of Professor Sasa Frank in the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. Her graduate project was centered upon the role of endothelial lipase and modified high density lipoproteins (HDL) on vascular reactivity. She joined the Alvira lab in the fall of 2014, and created a novel mouse model containing an inducible, endothelial-specific deletion of the NFkB activator, IKKb. Based on her early work she was awarded a Stanford Child Health Research Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, and Platform Presentations at the Pediatric Academic Societies Meetings in 2016 and 2017.
Pediatrician Thomas Robinson finds that children who curtailed their television time gained significantly less body fat than those who didn't .
Researcher William Haskell shows that intensive lifestyle changes and prevention/treatment programs can reduce cardiac events and slow the progression of atherosclerosis in coronary arteries.
Researcher William S. Robinson isolates the genetic blueprint of a virus that causes hepatitis B and a common form of liver cancer.