Augusta University
Klaus Ley, MD
Founding Director
- Augusta GA UNITED STATES
- CN4315
- Physiology
Dr. Ley explores how T cell immunity drives atherosclerosis.
Contact More Open optionsSpotlight
November 07, 2023
2 min
Multimedia
Social
Biography
Klaus holds an M.D. (1982) from JMU Würzburg, Germany. He was an associate professor at the University of Virginia 1994-1997, Professor of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering 1997-2007, director of Robert M Berne Cardiovascular Research Center 2001-2007. In 2007, he became a professor of Immunology at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology with an adjunct appointment as Professor of Bioengineering at UCSD (2007-2022). Since 2022, he is founding co-director of the Immunology Center of Georgia and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar. Klaus received more than 20 awards, including the Bonazinga award of the Society for Leukocyte Biology (2008), the Malpighi award of the European Microcirculatory Society (2010), the Koehler Inflammation award 2015, the Russell Ross lecture of the American Heart Association (AHA) 2015, Distinguished Scientist award (AHA 2016), Landis Award of the Microcirculatory Society 2017, Lifetime award for cardiology research, University of Graz, Austria (2021). Klaus received over $30 million in awards from the National Institutes of Health. He studies atherosclerosis, focusing on integrin activation in inflammatory cells and the autoimmune response in atherosclerosis. His h index is 166 and his work has received more than 117,000 citations.
Areas of Expertise
Education
Julius Maximilians Universitat Wurzburg, Germany
M.D.
1982Affiliations
- Biophysical Society
- American Heart Association : Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Council
- American Heart Association : Council on Basic Cardiovascular Sciences
- American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) : Elected Fellow
- American Association of Immunologists : Member
Links
Media Appearances
JENNIE: MCG Immunologist explains the importance of flu shots
WJBF tv
2023-11-30
While the spread of COVID-19 is on the decline, cold and flu cases are quickly picking up steam. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows influenza activity ramping up. So now is the time to start developing healthy habits, like washing your hands. According to the CDC, the single best way to reduce the risk of seasonal flu is to get vaccinated each year. It’s also important to practice healthy habits, like avoiding people who are sick and covering your face when you cough or sneeze.
Moving Innovation Beyond the Walls
Georgia Trend print
2023-11-29
If you think of research as something that happens in an ivory tower in Athens (or Augusta, or on Atlanta’s North Avenue or in its downtown, or…well, you get the idea), then you’re right. Georgia’s research universities – Augusta University; Emory University, Georgia Tech and Georgia State University in Atlanta; and the University of Georgia in Athens – are home to scholars, engineers and scientists who pursue the kinds of breakthroughs that win awards and generate papers in prestigious journals. And it’s not just those five institutions, either. Research that promotes discoveries in everything from healthcare to technology and aerospace happens across the state at institutions of higher learning. At Augusta University’s Medical College of Georgia, the Immunology Center of Georgia (IMMCG) is just getting off the ground. Co-directors Klaus Ley and his wife, Catherine “Lynn” Hedrick, were recruited in 2022 from the La Jolla Institute of Immunology to launch the IMMCG. Ley is one of the world’s premier researchers in vascular immunology, which focuses on the role the immune system plays in heart disease. Specifically, Ley says, he studies how the autoimmune response – which happens when the body mistakenly attacks healthy cells and tissues instead of invading bacteria or viruses – is involved in atherosclerosis (thickening or hardening of the arteries, caused by plaque building up in the artery wall).
MCG professors: Flu vaccines a safe, effective way to build a healthier future for Augusta
Augusta Chronicle print
2023-11-15
In a world brimming with medical advancements and cutting-edge research, the Immunology Center of Georgia is advancing global progress in scientific innovation and health protection all from right here in Augusta. IMMCG, part of the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, is a research enterprise that pioneers ways for the body to marshal its immune defenders and attackers to defeat health threats. Unlocking the power and potential of the human immune system takes imagination, determination and collaboration, and we are ready for the challenge.
Mix at 3
WRDW tv
2023-11-14
Dr. Klaus Ley explains the importance of getting flu vaccinations.
Augusta University’s Immunology Center of Georgia enlists national experts to foster growth through Scientific Advisory Board
Augusta University Jagwire online
2023-10-19
Klaus Ley, MD, and Catherine “Lynn” Hedrick, PhD, Georgia Research Alliance eminent scholars and co-directors of IMMCG, formed the SAB with an eye toward the future.
When regulatory T cells go bad
EurekAlert! online
2023-08-10
“Identifying exTregs in humans opens up more opportunities for research since patient material—like blood samples—are readily available," adds study senior author Klaus Ley, MD, co-director of MCG's Immunology Center of Georgia.
Power Couple: Local researchers studying the immune system to fight disease
WJBF online
2022-10-24
We are talking about immunology and the research that is being done at the new Immunology Center of Georgia at the Medical College of Georgia. We talked to Dr. Lynn Hedrick in our first segment. The co-director of that center is her husband, Dr. Klaus Ley, and he’s been kind enough to join us for our second segment today. Dr. Ley, thanks, as I said to Dr. Hedrick, for your research and for what you’re doing to help us, hopefully, one day lead healthier lives.
Immunology Center of Georgia reestablishes lectureship
The Augusta Press online
2024-07-04
Founded in 2022 as part of the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, the Immunology Center of Georgia (IMMCG) has recently established the Margaret-Gertraud Immunology Lectureship during the 2024 Augusta Gives philanthropy campaign. Funded by the center’s founding co-directors, Catherine “Lynn” Hedrick and Klaus Ley, the new lectureship is named in honor of their late mothers and aims to advance immunology education and research. The lectureship will be designed to attract distinguished speakers from around the world to share their expertise on the immune system’s role in illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and various other autoimmune diseases. “Endowed lectureships provide the enhanced funding necessary to attract and bring renowned speakers to our campus,” Ley said. With the lectureship fueled by the inspiration of their mother’s journeys, Hedrick and Ley have both experienced personal loss from diseases that can be worsened by the immune system’s response. Hedrick watched her mother, Margaret, battle type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease, which sparked her own pursuit of medical research at a young age.
Answers
-
Should people be worried about the side effects of getting the flu vaccine?
-
"Common side effects from a flu shot could include soreness or swelling at the site of the injection, headaches, low-grade fever, nausea, muscle aches or fatigue. Those minor side effects are an indication your immune system is responding as it should to the vaccination. You will experience much more severe fever, aches and other symptoms if you catch the flu without being vaccinated against it."
-
Why is it important to get vaccinated against the flu?
-
"The flu can have serious consequences and by getting vaccinated, you protect yourself and those around you. It's a simply effective way to prevent the spread of this contagious virus."
Articles
Sex-specific and immune-cell-specific contributions of beta2 integrins in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury
Physiology2023 Leukocyte recruitment and their mediated inflammatory responses are critical for cardiovascular diseases, including myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury, which accounts for 9% mortality and 10% morbidity rates in ischemic heart disease patients.
Integrated single-cell analysis-based classification of vascular mononuclear phagocytes in mouse and human atherosclerosis
Cardiovascular Research2023 Accumulation of mononuclear phagocytes [monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells (DCs)] in the vessel wall is a hallmark of atherosclerosis. Using integrated single-cell analysis of mouse and human atherosclerosis, we here aimed to refine the nomenclature of mononuclear phagocytes in atherosclerotic vessels and to compare their transcriptomic profiles in mouse and human disease.
Cell-autonomous regulation of complement C3 by factor H limits macrophage efferocytosis and exacerbates atherosclerosis
Immunity2023 Complement factor H (CFH) negatively regulates consumption of complement component 3 (C3), thereby restricting complement activation. Genetic variants in CFH predispose to chronic inflammatory disease.
