Ruby Siegel’s Three Minute Thesis
Curbing Out-of-Control Inflammation
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory joint disease that causes disability and suffering in approximately 1% of the population. Much of the inflammation in RA is driven by a cascade of alerts to the immune system, triggered by a signal called TNF-α. The ensuing autoimmune attacks cause painful and progressive joint destruction. Not everyone with RA is a candidate for anti-TNF drugs. For those who are eligible, these expensive drug therapies decrease joint inflammation and damage at the cost of shutting down key immune signals that normally control infections and limit development of cancer. This research project highlights a promising new way to curb out-of-control inflammation driven by TNF-α, without shutting it off completely.
About Ruby
Ruby Siegel is a PhD student in Pharmaceutical Science and Molecular Medicine. She has a bachelor’s degree in Biology and master’s degree in Biology/Biotechnology. Fascination with the human immune system is woven through Ruby’s scientific career. She worked in clinical laboratories for 17 years doing organ transplant immunology testing. [Goal: predict, avoid, or detect an immune system attack on a transplanted organ]. The National Institutes of Health have awarded Ruby a predoctoral fellowship to support her research defining a potential new drug target in rheumatoid arthritis. [Goal: de-escalate an immune system attack on the body’s own joint tissues.]