Professional Bio
Amy Major, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology, Department of Medicine, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She has a secondary appointment in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology.
She received her BS in biology from Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia. She conducted her graduate work in the laboratory of Dr. Christopher Cuff in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, West Virginia University, where she studied the mucosal immune response of the small intestine against enteric viruses.
After earning her PhD, Dr. Major came to Vanderbilt as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratories of Drs. MacRae Linton and Sergio Fazio, where she studied immune-mediated mechanisms of atherosclerosis. Dr. Major was a faculty member in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine from 2004-2015 before moving to the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology.
The broad research focus of Dr. Major's laboratory is to understand immunological mechanisms of autoimmunity and how it accelerates cardiovascular disease, specifically atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is the number one cause of mortality in developed countries and it is known that both lipids and immunity play significant roles. Work performed in our laboratory has significantly impacted our understanding of how the immune system modulates atherosclerosis as well as how dyslipidemia and the atherosclerotic environment influence normal immune function.
The preclinical models used in our studies are the mouse model of atherosclerosis (LDL-receptor deficient or apolipoprotein E deficient) and the mouse model of spontaneous lupus (B6.Sle). All these animal models of human disease have been well characterized and have pathogenic characteristics relevant to their human disease counterparts. In addition, her lab has started more translational studies with lupus patients to discover unique mechanisms of immune regulation.
Ultimately her research aims to uncover novel characteristics of cardiovascular disease in patients with autoimmunity so that more effective therapies can be developed for these individuals.
Publications
Education
PhD - Microbiology and Immunology - West Virginia University, 1998
Fellowship - Cardiovascular Medicine - Vanderbilt University, 2002
Contact
Email
Kimryn.Rathmell@Vumc.Org
Address
777 Preston Research Building
2220 Pierce Ave
Nashville, TN 37232-6307