Dr. Denise Faustman | Medicine and Health Sciences | Best Researcher Award

Direcotr of immunobiology laboratory | washington university school of medicine | United States

Dr. Denise Faustman is a physician-scientist whose career exquisitely bridges clinical medicine, immunology, and translational research. She earned her Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology along with her M.D. in Medicine from Washington University School of Medicine, and she holds a bachelor’s degree in Zoology & Chemistry from the University of Michigan. Over her professional journey, Dr. Faustman has held roles such as Director of the Immunobiology Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and she continues to lead efforts in immunotherapy, autoimmunity, and metabolic modulation. Her research interests center on autoimmune disease mechanisms, autoreactive T cells, the immunoregulatory role of TNF/TNFR2, use of Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine in type 1 diabetes, epigenetic modulation of immune cells, and the intersection of immunometabolism and regenerative therapies. Her technical and methodological skills span immunology assays (flow cytometry, T-cell functional assays, cytokine profiling), epigenetic and methylation analyses, transcriptomics, metabolomics, clinical trial design, and translational biomarker development. In her career she has authored 115 documents, has accrued 5,972 citations, and holds an h-index of 42, attesting to her sustained academic influence. Professionally, Dr. Faustman has led multiple NIH-funded and translational projects, engaged in global advisory committees (including in immunology, diabetes, and regulatory policy), and established collaborations across institutions in North America and Europe. She has served on scientific advisory boards, chaired expert panels, participated in FDA and NIH review committees, and mentored many early-career scientists. Her honors include recognition for contributions to autoimmune disease research, invitations as plenary or keynote speaker at international conferences, and appointments to leadership roles in professional societies and advisory bodies. In summary, Dr. Denise Faustman combines deep scientific insight, rigorous methodological skill, leadership in translational immunology, and a track record of high-impact publications to make significant contributions both to fundamental immunology and to treatments for type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases. She is well positioned to continue driving innovation in immunotherapy, to mentor the next generation of biomedical scientists, and to lead large-scale international collaborative projects that translate immunological discoveries into patient benefit.

Profile: ORCID | Scopus

Featured Publications

1. Faustman, D. L. (2001). Reversal of established autoimmune diabetes by restoration of endogenous beta cell function. Journal of Clinical Investigation.

2. Kodama, S., Kuhtreiber, W., Fujimura, S., Dale, E. A., & Faustman, D. L. (2003). Islet regeneration during the reversal of autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice. Science.

3. Kühtreiber, W. M., Tran, L., Kim, T., Dybala, M., Nguyen, B., Plager, S., Huang, D., Janes, S., Defusco, A., Baum, D., Zheng, H., & Faustman, D. L. (2018). Long-term reduction in hyperglycemia in advanced type 1 diabetes: the value of induced aerobic glycolysis with BCG vaccinations.

4. Kuhtreiber, W. M., et al. (2023). BCG clinical trial programs in advanced type 1 diabetes.

5. Faustman, D. L., Davis, M. (2013). TNF receptor 2 and disease: autoimmunity and regenerative medicine.