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Faculty Detail    
Name ROBINNA GAIL LORENZ
Professor, Department of Pathology and Medical Education
Associate Dean for Physician Scientist Development
Director, UAB Medical Scientist (MD-PhD) Training Program
Director, UAB Medical Student Summer Research Program (MSSRP)
Director, UAB Summer in Biomedical Sciences (SIBS) Undergraduate Research Program
Director, UAB Preparation for Graduate and Medical Education (PARAdiGM) Program
Director, Physician Scientist Development Office
Section Head, Clinical Immunology Diagnostic Laboratory
 
Campus Address SHEL 121C Zip 2182
Phone  (650) 467-2119
E-mail  rlorenz@uabmc.edu
Other websites UAB MSTP
UAB Immunology
UAB Diabetes Center
Physician Scientist Development Office
     

Education
Undergraduate  Stanford University    1984  B.S., Biological Sciences 
Medical School  Washington University in St. Louis    1990  M.D., Ph.D. (Immunology) 
Residency  Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Washington University in St. Louis    1994  Clinical Pathology 


Faculty Appointment(s)
Appointment Type Department Division Rank
Primary  Clinical Pathology  Laboratory Medicine Professor Adjunct

Graduate Biomedical Sciences Affiliations
Cancer Biology 
Immunology 
Medical Scientist Training Program 
Microbiology 
Pathobiology and Molecular Medicine 

Biographical Sketch 
Robin Lorenz received her M.D., Ph.D. in Immunology from Washington University in St. Louis in 1990. She then completed her residency in Clinical Pathology at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, while also doing postdoctoral research in Gastrointestinal Biology at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Lorenz was hired at Washington University as an Assistant Professor of Pathology and Medicine in 1994. In addition, she served as the Medical Director of the Joint Clinical Immunology Laboratory for Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens Hospitals and as the Associate Director of the Laboratory Medicine Residency Training Program. Dr. Lorenz joined the UAB faculty in 2002 as an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology. The National Institutes of Health, the Strategic Program for Asthma Research, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation have funded her laboratory research investigating the mucosal immune system. Dr. Lorenz is also Director of the UAB Medical Scientist Training Program and the Physician Scientist Development Office. She is married and has two children.

Society Memberships
Organization Name Position Held Org Link
Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists  President (2013-2014)  http://www.aclps.org/ 
American Gastroenterology Association  member  http://www.gastro.org/ 
American Society for Investigative Pathology  Councilor (2016-present)  http://www.asip.org/ 
Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Group on Graduate Research Education and Training  Steering Committee (2008-2013); Chair (2011-2013)  https://www.aamc.org/members/great/ 
Society for Mucosal Immunology  member  http://www.socmucimm.org/ 
The Histochemical Society  Councilor (2014-present)  http://histochemicalsociety.org/ 



Research/Clinical Interest
Title
Mucosal Immunology
Description
The focus of research in our laboratory is the study of the cellular components of the mucosal immune system and their interactions with the gastrointestinal epithelium, the GI microbiome, and the systemic immune response.

Selected Publications 
Publication PUBMEDID
Weaver AN, McCaw TR, Fifolt M, Hites L, and Lorenz RG. The impact of elective versus required medical school research experiences on career outcomes. Journal of Investigative Medicine. 2017; 2017 Mar 7.   28270407 
Remick DG, Lorenz RG, and Smith BR. Opportunity: Newly created physician-scientist research pathway by the American Board of Pathology. Academic Pathology. 2016;3:1-3.
 
 
Tanner SM, Daft JG, Hill SA, Martin CA, and Lorenz RG. Altered T cell balance in lymphoid organs of a mouse model of colorectal cancer. J Histochem. Cytochem. 2016 Dec;64(12):753-767. Epub 2016 Oct 20.   27798287 
Staley EM, Carruba SS, Manning M, Pham HP, Williams LA, Marques MB, Locke JE, and Lorenz RG. Anti-blood group antibodies in intravenous immunoglobulin may complicate interpretation of antibody titers in ABOi transplantation. American Journal of Transplantation. 2016 Aug;16(8):2483-6. doi: 10.1111/ajt.13760.  26913485 
Milewicz DM, Lorenz RG, Dermody TS, and Brass LF: Rescuing the physician-scientist workforce: the time for action is now. The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2015 Oct 1;125(10):3742-7. doi: 10.1172/JCI84170. Epub 2015 Oct 1.   26426074 
Daft JG and Lorenz RG. Role of the gastrointestinal ecosystem in the development of Type 1 Diabetes (Review). 2015. Pediatr Diabetes. 2015 Sep;16(6):407-18. doi: 10.1111/pedi.12282. Epub 2015 May 8.
 
25952017 
Culbreath C, Tanner SM, Yeramilli VA, Berryhill TF, Lorenz RG, and Martin CA. Environmental-mediated intestinal homeostasis in neonatal mice. J Surg Res. 2015 Oct;198(2):494-501. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2015.04.002. Epub 2015 Apr 10.  25940157 
Daft JG, Ptacek T, Kumar R, Morrow C, and Lorenz RG. Cross-fostering immediately after birth induces a permanent microbiota shift that is shaped by the nursing mother. Microbiome 2015 Apr 25;3:17. doi: 10.1186/s40168-015-0080-y. eCollection 2015.   25969735 
Tanner SM, Berryhill TF, Ellenburg JL, Jilling T, Cleveland DS, Lorenz RG, and Martin CA. Pathogenesis of necrotizing enterocolitis: Modeling the innage immune response (Review). Am. J. Path. 2015 Jan;185(1):4-16. doi: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2014.08.028. Epub 2014 Nov 4. PMCID: PMC4278236.
 
25447054 
Wolf, KJ, Daft, JG, Tanner, SM, Hartmann, R, Khafipour, E, and Lorenz, RG: Consumption of acidic water alters the gut microbiome and decreases the risk of diabetes in NOD mice. J. Histochem. Cytochem. 2014; 62(4):237-250. Epub ahead of print. Jan 22, 2014. Doi: 10.1369/0022155413519650.  24453191 
Durham, CG, Schwiebert, LM, and Lorenz, RG: Use of the cockroach antigen model of acute asthma to determine the immunomodulatory role of early exposure to gastrointestinal infection. Methods Mol Biol. 2013;1032:271-86. doi: 10.1007/978-1-62703-496-8_21.  23943460 
Staley EM, Tanner SM, Daft JG, Stanus AL, Martin SM, Lorenz RG. Maintenance of host leukocytes in peripheral immune compartments following lethal irradiation and bone marrow reconstitution: Implications for graft versus host disease. Transplant Immunology. 2013; Mar;28(2-3):112-9. doi: 10.1016/j.trim.2013.01.001. Epub 2013 Jan 17.   23334064 
Wolf KJ, and Lorenz RG: Gut Microbiota and Obesity. Current Obesity Reports. 2012 Mar 1;1(1):1-8.  23106036 
Tanner SM, Staley EM, Lorenz RG. Altered generation of induced regulatory T cells in the FVB.mdr1a(-/-) mouse model of colitis. Mucosal Immunology. 2013 Mar;6(2):309-23. doi: 10.1038/mi.2012.73. Epub 2012 Aug 8.   22874899 
Staley EM, Yarbrough VR, Schoeb TR, Daft JG, Tanner SM, Steverson D Jr, Lorenz RG. Murine P-glycoprotein deficiency alters intestinal injury repair and blunts lipopolysaccharide-induced radioprotection. Radiat Res. 2012 Sep;178(3):207-16.  22780103  
Schmitz JM, Durham CG, Schoeb TR, Soltau TD, Wolf KJ, Tanner SM, McCracken VJ, Lorenz RG. Helicobacter felis-Associated Gastric Disease in Microbiota-Restricted Mice. J Histochem Cytochem. 2011 Sep;59(9):826-41.  21852692 
Staley EM, Dimmitt RA, Schoeb TR, Tanner SM, Lorenz RG. Critical Role For P-Glycoprotein Expression in Hematopoietic Cells In The Fvb.Mdr1a-/- Model of Colitis. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2011 Dec;53(6):666-73.  21681110 
Dimmitt RA, Staley EM, Chuang G, Tanner SM, Soltau TD, Lorenz RG. Role of postnatal acquisition of the intestinal microbiome in the early development of immune function. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2010 Sep;51(3):262-73.
 
20639773 
Tatum PM Jr, Harmon CM, Lorenz RG, Dimmitt RA. Toll-like receptor 4 is protective against neonatal murine ischemia-reperfusion intestinal injury. J Pediatr Surg. 2010 Jun;45(6):1246-55.  20620328 
Paik JC, Howard, G, and Lorenz RG: Postgraduate Choices of Graduates from Medical Scientist Training Programs, 2004-2008. JAMA 2009;302(12):1271-1273.  19773561 
Schmitz JM, Durham, CG, Ho SB, Lorenz RG: Gastric mucus alterations associated with murine helicobacter infection. J Histochem Cytochem. 2009 May;57(5):457-67.  19153195  
Staley EM, Schoeb TR and Lorenz RG: Differential Susceptibility of P-glycoprotein Deficient Mice to Colitis Induction by Environmental Insults. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2009 May;15(5):684-96.  19067430 
Harris PR, Wright SW, Serrano C, Riera F, Duarte I, Torres J, Peña A, Rollán A, Viviani P, Guiraldes E, Schmitz JM, Lorenz RG, Novak L, Smythies LE, Smith PD. Helicobacter pylori gastritis in children is associated with a regulatory T-cell response. Gastroenterology. 2008 Feb;134(2):491-9.  18242215 
Schmitz JM, McCracken VJ, Dimmitt RA, Lorenz RG. Expression of CXCL15 (Lungkine) in Murine Gastrointestinal, Urogenital, and Endocrine Organs. J Histochem Cytochem. 2007 May;55(5):515-24.   17242461 
*McCracken VJ, *Martin SM, and Lorenz RG: The Helicobacter felis model of adoptive transfer gastritis. Immunol. Res. 2005; 33:183-194.  16234583 
Riehl TE, Newberry RN, Lorenz RG, Stenson WF: TNFRI mediates the radioprotective effects of lipopolysaccharide in the mouse intestine. Am. J. Physiol. Gastrointest. Liver Physiol. 2004;286:G166-73.  14525729 
Lorenz RG, Chaplin DD, McDonald KG, McDonough JS, Newberry RD: Isolated lymphoid follicle formation is inducible and dependent upon lymphotoxin-sufficient B lymphocytes, lymphotoxin beta receptor, and TNF receptor I function. J. Immunol. 2003;170:5475-5482  12759424 
Newberry RD, McDonough JS, Stenson WF, and Lorenz RG: Spontaneous and continuous cycloxygenase-2 dependent prostaglandin E2 production by stromal cells in the murine small intestine lamina propria: directing the tone of the intestinal immune response. J. Immunol. 2001;166:4465-4472.  11254702 
McCracken VJ, and Lorenz RG: The gastrointestinal ecosystem: A precarious alliance between epithelium, immunity, and microbiota. Cell. Microbiol. 2001;3:1-11.  11207615 
Newberry RD, Stenson WF, Lorenz RG. Cyclooxygenase-2-dependent arachidonic acid metabolites are essential modulators of the intestinal immune response to dietary antigen. Nature Med 1999:8:900-906.  10426313 
Roth KA, Kapadia SB, Martin SM, Lorenz RG. Cellular immune responses are essential for the development of Helicobacter felis-associated gastric pathology. J Immunol 1999 163:1490-1497.  10415051 

Keywords
gastritis, helicobacter, inflammatory bowel disease, mucosal immunology, asthma, diabetes