Podcast: Reprogramming Autoimmune Diseases
Dr. Thomas Malek speaks with Dean Henri Ford about redefining immune system resets.
Can a lab-developed protein offer a long-term solution for treating autoimmune diseases?
Autoimmune diseases lead to devastating, and sometimes deadly, health outcomes for millions of people worldwide. Yet they remain some of the most difficult conditions to treat. Diseases like lupus and Type 1 diabetes occur when the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues.
Current therapies often rely on broad immunosuppressants, which can weaken the entire immune system and lead to serious side effects. What patients need isn’t a total shutdown of immunity. It’s a reset.
In this episode of “Inside U Miami Medicine,” Thomas Malek, Ph.D., professor and chair of microbiology and immunology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and a preeminent immunologist, shares how his groundbreaking work is helping to redefine what that “reset” could look like. With a research career spanning four decades, Dr. Malek has zeroed in on a powerful immune modulator: a novel fusion protein called IL-2/CD25.
“If you have an unchecked immune system, you end up with a big inflammatory response that could actually be deadly,” said Dr. Malek. “The goal is to reinstate the normal physiologic state that keeps those cells in check.”
Dr. Malek explains how this protein can be used to suppress excessive immune responses and prevent autoimmunity. Now licensed by Bristol Myers Squibb, the treatment is in clinical trials for conditions like lupus and atopic dermatitis. Tune in to learn how this approach could redefine treatment for autoimmune disorders, where patients currently manage symptoms but rarely achieve remission.
Listen now on Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
Tags: autoimmune disease, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Dr. Thomas Malek, immunology, Inside U Miami Medicine