Our group works to understand how patients with autoimmunity go from being stable to being very sick. We use many models to determine how triggers like skin bacteria or ultraviolet light can stimulate the immune system to go into over-drive and cause damage.
Our Research
Research Areas
- The effects of ultraviolet light on lupus skin
- Triggers for flares in lupus patients and lupus-prone mice
- Effects of microbiome on skin inflammation in lupus patients
- Bioinformatic approaches to uncovering novel biomarkers and therapies for lupus patients
- Comparisons of cutaneous lupus to other skin diseases

J. Michelle Kahlenberg, MD, PhD
Giles G. Bole, MD and Dorothy Mulkey, MD Research Professor
of Rheumatology
Associate Professor
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Rheumatology
Taubman Institute
Parfet Emerging Scholar
Phone: 734-647-1370
Email: mkahlenb@med.umich.edu
Other Affiliations
- Graduate Program in Immunology
- Medical Scientist Training Program
- Department of Dermatology P30 Core Co-Director
Contact the Lab
Tammi Reed
Michigan Medicine
1150 W. Medical Center Drive
5568 MSRB 2
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
734-764-2535
tamrar@med.umich.edu