a1varki

Personal

Bio

Ajit Varki is currently Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Cellular & Molecular Medicine, Co-Director of CARTA, Co-Director of the Glycobiology Research and Training Center, and Associate Dean for Physician-Scientist Training at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He received basic training in Physiology, Medicine, Biology, and Biochemistry at the Christian Medical College, Vellore, The University of Nebraska, and Washington University in St. Louis. He also has formal training and board certification in internal medicine, hematology, and oncology.  Dr. Varki is Executive Editor of the textbook "Essentials of Glycobiology" and is recipient of a MERIT award from the NIH, and an American Cancer Society Faculty Research Award.  He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, The Insitute of Medicine of the National Academies, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Association of American Physicians. Significant past appointments include: Co-Head, UCSD Division of Hematology-Oncology (1987-89); President of the Society for Glycobiology (1996); Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Clinical Investigation (1992-97); the Interim Directorship of the UCSD Cancer Center (1996-1997), and President of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (1998-1999).  Dr. Varki's research interests are focused on a family of cell surface sugars called the Sialic Acids, and their roles in biology, evolution and disease. Currently active projects are relevant to the roles of sialic acids in microbial infectivity, the regulation of the immune response, the progression and spread of tumors, and, unique aspects of human evolution.  His group is particularly intrigued in finding multiple differences in sialic acid biology between humans and our closest evolutionary cousins, the great apes.  These differences are a signature of the events that occurred during the last few million years of human evolution, and may be relevant to understanding several aspects of the current human condition, both in health and disease.

URL

http://cmm.ucsd.edu/varki/

MOCA Domains

Listed here are the MOCA domains with which this user account is associated in addition to the type of involvement (Editor and/or Leader).

Anatomy and Biomechanics (Editor)
Cell Biology and Biochemistry (Leader)
Endocrinology (Leader)
Genetics (Editor)
Genomics (Editor)
Immunology (Leader)
Medical Disease (Editor)
Organ Physiology (Editor)
Pathology (Editor)
Pharmacology (Editor)
Skin Biology and Disease (Leader)

MOCA Topics

Listed here are the MOCA topics for which this user account is one of the authors.

Absolute Lymphocyte Count (Pathology)
Absolute Neutrophil Count (Pathology)
Alpha2-6-linked Sialic Acid Expression (Cell Biology and Biochemistry)
Cholera (Medical Disease)
CMAH (Genetics)
Female Iron Deficiency (Medical Disease)
Fibrosing Cardiomyopathy (Medical Disease)
Foamy Virus (Spumavirus) Infection (Medical Disease)
Hepatic Amyloidosis (Medical Disease)
HIV Progression to AIDS (Medical Disease)
Influenza A Infection (Medical Disease)
Malaria (Medical Disease)
Meningococcal Meningitis (Medical Disease)
Menstrual Blood Loss (Reproductive Biology and Disease)
N-Glycolylneuraminic Acid Expression (Cell Biology and Biochemistry)
Psoriasis (Medical Disease)
RBC and Serum Folate (Pathology)
Response to Tuberculin Test (Immunology)
Salmonella Typhi Infection Severity (Medical Disease)
Serum Vitamin B12/B12 Binding Capacity (Pathology)
Sexually Transmitted Bacterial Diseases (Medical Disease)
Sialic Acid Recognition by Siglecs (Immunology)
Sialoadhesin on Macrophages (Immunology)
Siglec Expression in Microglia (Neuroscience)
Siglec Expression on T Cells (Immunology)
Siglec-11 (Genetics)
Siglec-12 (Genetics)
Siglec-13 (Genetics)
Siglec-14 (Genetics)
Siglec-16 (Genetics)
Siglec-5 (Genetics)
Siglec-6 (Genetics)
Siglec-7 (Genetics)
Siglec-9 (Genetics)
SIGLEC1/Sialoadhesin (Genetics)
T Cell Reactivity (Immunology)
Thyroid Hormone Metabolism (Endocrinology)
Transthyretin (Genetics)
Viral Hepatitis Complications (Medical Disease)
Wound Healing (Skin Biology and Disease)