Raif S. GEHA, M.D.

GehaChief of the Division of Immunology, Allergy, Rheumatology and Dermatology Division, Boston Children’s Hospital
James Gamble Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
Member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation

Education:
M.D. Degree: American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Postdoctoral Training: Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Research Interests:
• Molecular and cellular mechanisms of primary immunodeficiencies
• Molecular and cellular mechanisms of atopic dermatitis
• T cell activation
• IgE isotype switching

Bio:
Dr. Raif Salim Geha, M.D. served as Head of the Division of Allergy at Children's in 1976 and Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School in 1987. Since 1988, Dr. Geha has headed the Combined Allergy, Immunology, Rheumatology and Dermatology Division at Children's. Dr. Geha's research interests are in the fields of primary immunodeficiencies, T cell activation, IgE isotype switching, and mechanisms of atopic dermatitis. He serves as member of Scientific Advisory Board of Anergis SA and Artax BioPharma Inc. He has contributed to date more than 315 original articles, 150 reviews, several monographs and a book. His publications have appeared in Cell, Immunity, Nature, Molecular Cell, PNAS, J. Experimental Medicine, J. of Immunol. and JACI. Dr. Geha has received the Mead Johnson Award for Pediatric Research, the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences Prize, and the Scientific Achievement Award from the International Association of Allergology and Clinical Immunology. He has served on a number of NIH study sections and on the NIAID council, has been a director of the American Board of Allergy and Immunology, was elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the American Association of Physicians, has presided over the Clinical Immunology Society and chairs the IUIS Committee on Immunodeficiency. Over the past 25 years, Dr. Geha has trained more than 100 postdoctoral fellows, many of whom have risen to leadership positions in the fields of allergy and Immunology.

Selected publications:

  1. Jabara HH, Ohsumi T, Chou J, Massaad MJ, Benson H, Megarbane A, Chouery E, Mikhael R, Gorka O, Gewies A, Portales P, Nakayama T, Hosokawa H, Revy P, Herrod H, Le Deist F, Lefranc G, Ruland J, Geha RS. A homozygous mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue 1 (MALT1) mutation in a family with combined immunodeficiency. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2013 Jul; 132(1):151-8. PMID: 23727036
  2. Kumar L, Lu B, Gerard C, Geha RS. C3a receptor promotes viral containment in mice inoculated with vaccinia virus at sites of allergic skin inflammation. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2013 Sep; 132(3):746-748.e3. PMID: 23684067
  3. Watanabe Y, Sasahara Y, Ramesh N, Massaad MJ, Yeng Looi C, Kumaki S, Kure S, Geha RS, Tsuchiya S. T-cell receptor ligation causes Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein degradation and F-actin assembly downregulation. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2013 Sep; 132(3):648-655.e1. PMID: 23684068
  4. Bousfiha AA, Jeddane L, Ailal F, Al Herz W, Conley ME, Cunningham-Rundles C, Etzioni A, Fischer A, Franco JL, Geha RS, Hammarström L, Nonoyama S, Ochs HD, Roifman CM, Seger R, Tang ML, Puck JM, Chapel H, Notarangelo LD, Casanova JL. A Phenotypic Approach for IUIS PID Classification and Diagnosis: Guidelines for Clinicians at the Bedside. J Clin Immunol. 2013 Aug; 33(6):1078-87. PMID: 23657403
  5. Leisten S, Oyoshi MK, Galand C, Hornick JL, Gurish MF, Geha RS. Development of skin lesions in filaggrin-deficient mice is dependent on adaptive immunity. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2013 Apr; 131(4):1247-1250.e1. PMID: 23540619

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