| Principal Investigators
Esther M. Sternberg, M.D. |
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Dr.
Sternberg received her M.D. degree and trained in Rheumatology
at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. She did post-doctoral
training in the Division of Allergy and Immunology, and
was a Howard Hughes Associate and Instructor in Medicine
at Washington University and Barnes Hospital, St. Louis,
MO, before joining the National Institutes Health in 1986.
Currently Chief of the Section on Neuroendocrine Immunology
and Behavior at the National Institute of Mental Health,
Dr. Sternberg directs and Co-chairs two multi-Institute
Intramural Research Programs designed to foster interdisciplinary
research at NIH. She is Director of the Integrative
Neural Immune Program at the National Institutes
of Health, a multi-Institute NIMH-based Program aimed
at facilitating interdisciplinary research between neuroscience
and immunology labs and related clinical disciplines.
She is also Co-chair of a new multi-Institute NIH OD-based
Program on Research in Womens Health designed to
foster research across all NIH Institutes in sex and gender
differences and womens health. |
Research Interests |
The mission of the Section on Neuroendocrine Immunology and Behavior (SNIB) is to advance the
understanding of the role of neuroendocrine and neural factors in susceptibility and resistance to immune
mediated disorders, including autoimmune, inflammatory and infectious disorders. The basic research
component of the Section investigates mechanisms of hypothalamic CRH deficiency and
hyper-responsiveness in inbred rat strains that are relatively autoimmune/inflammatory disease
susceptible or resistant in part due to their differential neuroendocrine responsiveness. These studies
are carried out at a molecular level (glucocorticoid receptor, estrogen receptor, other nuclear hormone
receptors, cytokine and cytokine receptors); cellular level (immune/inflammatory responses;
hypothalamic cell neurohormone and neuropeptide production); neuroanatomical level (neurohormone
and immune molecule mRNA and peptide expression in brain; expression microarray approach to
identification of candidate genes); systems level (neuroendocrine and immune responses). These studies
have important implications for human physiology, including identifying genetic and environmental factors
determining set-points of immune and stress responsiveness, and diseases including arthritis,
inflammatory disease, and depression. These studies shed light on the association between stress
responsive neural systems and immune disease. A new line of study focuses on the role of these factors
in susceptibility, resistance and sequelae of infectious diseases and toxicity of certain bacterial toxins.
The clinical research program of the SNIB focuses on discerning the mechanisms and role of neural
immune interactions in inflammatory disease susceptibility and associated behavioral responses.
Studies assess the pathogenesis of autoimmune and stress related neuroendocrine and immune
responses in inflammatory disease using human subjects and exercise physiology, examining function
under physical and psychological stress conditions, and in affective disorders such as depression. |
Representative Selected Recent Publications: |
- Listwak S, Barrientos R, Koike G, Ghosh S, Gomez M, Misiewicz B and Sternberg EM.: Identification
of a novel inflammation-protective locus in the Fischer
rat. Mammalian Genome, 10(4):362-365, 1999.
- Webster
EL, Barrientos RM, Contoreggi C , Isaac MG, Ligier
S, Habib K, Chrousos GP, McCarthy EF, Rice KC, Gold
PW and Sternberg EM: Corticotropin-Releasing
Hormone Antagonist Attenuates Adjuvant-Induced Arthritis:
Evidence Supporting Major Role for CRH in Peripheral
Inflammation. J Rheumatology, 29:6, 2002.
- Sternberg EM.: Neuroendocrine
regulation of autoimmune/inflammatory disease.
J. Endocrinology, 169, 429-435, 2001.
- Webster
JI, Tonelli L, Sternberg EM.: Neuroendocrine
Regulation of Immunity. Annual Review of Immunology, 20:125-163, 2002.
- Sternberg EM, Webster,
J.: Neuroimmunology. Fundamental Immunology, Fifth Edition Ed., W. Paul. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia.
In press 2002.
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Address:
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Dr. Esther M. Sternberg
Integrative Neural Immune Program
Section Neuroendocrine Immunology and Behavior
Clinical Neuroendocrinology Branch, NIMH
Building 5625, Room 4N13
5625 Fisher�s Lane, MSC-9401
Rockville MD 20852-9401 |
Phone: |
(301) 496-9255 (office),
301-496-9255 (laboratory) |
Email Dr. Sternberg |
Fax: |
301-496-6095 |
Lab Web Site: |
http://intramural.nimh.nih.gov/inip/ |
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