The Rheumatology Research Foundation Edmund L. Dubois, MD Memorial Lectureship was established in memory of Dr. Edmund Dubois to honor his significant contributions to the study of lupus. Each year, the lectureship is presented at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Annual Meeting and features an outstanding investigator in the area of lupus research.
This year's recipient is Jason Knight, MD, PhD, Marvin and Betty Danto Research Professor of Connective Tissue Research, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology, and the Associate Director of the Michigan Medicine Lupus Program. Dr. Knight was chosen based on his abstract “Inhibition of Neutrophil Elastase Reduces Autoantibody Levels and Renal Inflammation in Murine Lupus”, as well as his many contributions to the field of lupus over the last several years. He gave his lecture at the 2019 ACR Annual Meeting that took place November 8-13 in Atlanta, GA, where he discussed his abstract, as well as reviewed his current research.
Dr. Knight received his medical degree and completed both his residency and fellowship at the University of Michigan. During his fellowship, he received the prestigious American College of Rheumatology Distinguished Fellow Award, as well as a Rheumatology Research Foundation Scientist Development Award. As a faculty member, he has been awarded a Young Physician Scientist Award by the American Society of Clinical Investigation, a Vic and Kelly Braden Memorial Grant for Lupus Research by the Arthritis National Research Foundation, and the Jerome W. Conn Award for Excellence in Research by a Junior Faculty Member from the U-M Department of Internal Medicine.
Dr. Knight’s research group is working to better understand the triggers and effectors of autoimmunity in lupus and the related antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). He has published over 60 articles in journals including Nature Communications, The Journal of Clinical Investigation, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, and Arthritis & Rheumatology.
His NIH-funded research laboratory has also received financial support from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Rheumatology Research Foundation, Arthritis National Research Foundation, and Lupus Research Alliance. Most recently, he was awarded a Lupus Research Alliance Target Identification in Lupus grant to study whether a stress-sensing protein spurs neutrophils to release NETs in patients with lupus.
Congratulations, Dr. Knight, on this well-deserved honor!
