The SRF’s Scientific Advisory Board member, Daniel Kastner, MD, PhD, shares his approach to deepening the understanding of autoinflammatory diseases in a story published in the journal, “Science”.
“Autoinflammatory diseases may […] yield insight into the organization of the immune system by revealing ‘chokepoints,’ or weak links that can fail and lead to illness,” suggests Kastner, who until last month served as Scientific Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). Through years of exploring these immune system “chokepoints”, Kastner and his research group discovered thirteen novel autoinflammatory diseases and identified targeted treatments for a number of them.
In addition to his research on autoinflammatory disorders, Dr. Kastner plays a leadership role in two SRF-funded genomics research projects: the Juvenile Scleroderma Project and the GRASP Project (Genome Research in African American Scleroderma Patients), both of which aim to identify genetic contributions to the onset and severity of scleroderma.
Dr. Kastner serves on the SRF’s Scientific Advisory Board, along with some of the world’s most honored and distinguished scientists, who give their time and insights freely to ensure that the SRF’s research program remains laser-focused on the highest quality, most promising scleroderma research.
