Christopher J. Lessard, Ph.D.

When the scientists of the Human Genome Project sequenced the entire human genome, many thought it would immediately lead us to understand the genetic basis for human disease. We soon realized the human genome is much more complex than we’d ever imagined. Since then, technological advances allowed us to use genome-wide association studies which assess genetic differences between healthy individuals and those with a particular disease. More recently, we’ve entered a new era of affordable, rapid sequencing, providing scientists with unparalleled access to the high-quality, informative data needed to unravel the mysteries of human disease.

Yet not all diseases are created equal. Some diseases result from disruptions in a single gene. Others, including the autoimmune diseases lupus and Sjögren’s syndrome, are influenced by disruptions in multiple genes. In autoimmune diseases, the immune system mistakenly recognizes our proteins as foreign and attacks them, ultimately leading to inflammatory processes that ravage the human body. While the precise causes of autoimmune diseases are not fully known, we think lupus and Sjögren’s syndrome result from a complex interplay of multiple genetic risk factors and environmental triggers. Genetic studies in these diseases require international collaborations to assemble the large patient and healthy control populations needed to obtain meaningful results. To date researchers have identified more than 50 genes in lupus, while only 7 genes have been identified in Sjögren’s syndrome.

My lab studies the genetics of lupus and Sjögren’s syndrome. Our goal is to understand the complex interactions between the elements of the human genome to identify new biomarkers and to develop therapeutics that will ultimately improve the lives of patients affected by these serious autoimmune disorders.

Coming soon

Education
B.Sc., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 2000
Ph.D., Pathology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, 2010
Postdoctoral Studies, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, 2012

Honors and Awards
1999-present Member, Golden Key National Honor Society
2008-2009 Barrett Predoctoral Scholarship Fund Award
2008 Notable Poster Award, American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting, San Francisco, CA
2009 Paul Kimmelstiel Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Research and Presentation Skills, Department of Pathology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
2009 American College of Rheumatology Research and Education Foundation/Abbott Health Professional Graduate Student Research Preceptorship Award
2010 Paul Kimmelstiel Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Research and Presentation Skills, Department of Pathology, OUHSC
2010 Graduate Student Association Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement, OUHSC
2010 Outstanding Graduate Award (for a 4.0 GPA), OUHSC
2010 Notable Poster Award, American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting, Atlanta GA
2011-present Visiting Professor, Center for Autoimmune Disease Research (CREA), Universidad Del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia
2011 OMRF Outstanding Paper Award for FY 2010-2011
2015 Notable Translational Abstract, EULAR 2015 (Rome, Italy)
2016 J. Donald and Patricia Capra Award for Scientific Achievement

Professional Activities
Grant Reviewing: 2013 - Israel Science Foundation; 2016 - Oklahoma Shared Clinical and Translation Resources Pilot Grants Program NIH study section 2016/05 ZRG1 SBIB-V (82); 2017 - Oklahoma Shared Clinical and Translational Resources Pilot Grants

Journal Reviewing, ad hoc (since 2010, in alphabetical order): American Journal of Human Genetics, Annals of Medicine, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, Archivum Immunologiae et Therapiae Experimentalis, Arthritis and Rheumatology, Arthritis Research & Therapy, Autoimmune Diseases, BMC Medical Genomics, Case Reports in Neurological Medicine, Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology, Clinical Genetics, Clinical Rheumatology, Cytokine, European Journal of Neurology, Gene, Genes and Immunity, Human Genetics, Human Immunology, Human Molecular Genetics, International Journal of Clinical Rheumatology, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Journal of Immunology Research, Journal of Rheumatology, Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, Lupus, Lupus: Open Access, Lupus Science and Medicine, Modern Rheumatology, Nature Communications, Neuro Molecular Medicine, PLoS Genetics, PLoS One, Scandinavian Journal of Immunology

Scientific Service: 2012 - DNA Day Essay Contest Judge, American Society of Human Genetics; 2015 - Judge, Poster Session, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation Retreat; 2016 - Abstract Reviewer, BATTS Conference, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation; 2017 - Judge, Paul Kimmelstiel Graduate Student Award, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Department of Pathology; 2017 – Abstract Reviewer, ACR 2017 Annual Meeting (San Diego, CA – Oct 30-Nov 8), Genetics, Genomics and Proteomics category; 2018 – Abstract Reviewer, ACR 2017 Annual Meeting (Chicago, IL – Oct 19-24), Genetics, Genomics and Proteomics category

Educational Activities
Lecturer (2014 to present): Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology course and Principles of Pathobiology course, Department of Pathology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Mentoring of students: PhD Candidates, GPiBS rotating graduate students, Undergraduate Honors Thesis Students, OMRF Fulbright Scholars, OMRF Fleming Scholars Summer Research Program, Lupus Foundation of Minnesota Summer Scholars

Institutional Committees: 2011-present - Postdoctoral Fellows, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation; 2012-present - Dissertation Advisory Committee (PhD), Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center; 2015 - General Exam Committee (PhD), Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center; 2015-present Institutional Review Board, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation; 2017-present - Chair, Doctoral Advisory Committee (PhD), Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center; 2017-present - Pathology Graduate Committee, Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center

Invited presentations: 2011 - Center for Autoimmune Diseases Research, Universidad Del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia; 2nd Colombian Symposium on Autoimmunity, Bogotá, Colombia; 2013 - Illumina Seminar Series, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK; Center for Autoimmune Diseases Research, Universidad Del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia; 2014 - 16th Asian Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology Congress, Cebu City, Philippines; Center for Autoimmune Diseases Research, Universidad Del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia; 2015 - Statistical Genetics, Genetic Epidemiology and Bioinformatics Seminar, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, SC; 3rd Colombian Symposium on Autoimmunity, Bogotá, Colombia; OMRF Research Forum, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK; 2016 - Biomarkers and Targeted Therapeutics in Sjogren’s Conference, Oklahoma City, OK; 2018 OMRF PhD, MD/PhD, GPiBS Student Luncheon, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK

Professional Membership
American Society of Human Genetics, 2007-present
American College of Rheumatology, 2016-present
American Academy of Neurology, 2015-2016

Joined OMRF Scientific Staff in 2014

Recent Publications

Koelsch KA, Cavett J, Smith K, Moore JS, Lehoux SD, Jia N, Mather T, Quadri SMS, Rasmussen A, Kaufman CE, Lewis DM, Radfar L, Scordino TA, Lessard CJ, Kurien BT, Cummings RD, James JA, Sivils KL, Farris AD, Scofield RH. Evidence of Alternative Modes of B Cell Activation Involving Acquired Fab Regions of N-Glycosylation in Antibody-Secreting Cells Infiltrating the Labial Salivary Glands of Patients With Sjögren's Syndrome. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2018 Feb 18. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 29457375

Leehan KM, Pezant NP, Rasmussen A, Grundahl K, Moore JS, Radfar L, Lewis DM, Stone DU, Lessard CJ, Rhodus NL, Segal BM, Kaufman CE, Scofield RH, Sivils KL, Montgomery C, Farris AD.  Fatty infiltration of the minor salivary glands is a selective feature of aging but not Sjögren's syndrome. Autoimmunity. 2017 Oct 8:1-7. PMID:28988489 

Leehan KM, Pezant NP, Rasmussen A, Grundahl K, Moore JS, Radfar L, Lewis DM, Stone DU, Lessard CJ, Rhodus NL, Segal BM, Scofield RH, Sivils KL, Montgomery C, Farris AD.  Minor salivary gland fibrosis in Sjögren's syndrome is elevated, associated with focus score and not solely a consequence of aging.  Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2017 Oct 23. PMID:29148407

Selected Publications

Harris VM, Sharma R, Cavett J, Kurien BT, Liu K, Koelsch KA, Rasmussen A, …, Lessard CJ, Harley JB, Sivils KL, Scofield HR.  Corrigendum to "Klinefelter's syndrome (47,XXY) is in excess among men with Sjögren's syndrome." Clin Immunol. 2017 Nov 28. pii: S1521-6616(17)30854-9. PMID:29195081

Li H, Reksten TR, Ice JA, ..., Guthridge JM, ..., Farris AD, ..., Gaffney PM, James JA, ..., Montgomery CG, Scofield RH, Kovats S, ..., Lessard CJ, Sivils KL.  Identification of a Sjögren's syndrome susceptibility locus at OAS1 that influences isoform switching, protein expression, and responsiveness to type I interferons. PLoS Genet. 2017 Jun 22;13(6):e1006820.  PMID: 28640813

Reksten TR, Lessard CJ, Sivils KL. Genetics in Sjögren Syndrome. Rheum Dis Clin North Am. 2016 Aug;42(3):435-47.  Epub 2016 Jun 21. Review. [Abstract]

Joachims ML, Leehan KM, Lawrence C, Pelikan RC, Moore JS, Pan Z, Rasmussen A, Radfar L, Lewis DM, Grundahl KM, Kelly JA, Wiley GB, Shugay M, Chudakov DM, Lessard CJ, Stone DU, Scofield RH, Montgomery CG, Sivils KL, Thompson LF, Farris AD. Single-cell analysis of glandular T cell receptors in Sjögren's syndrome. JCI Insight. 2016 Jun 2;1(8). pii: e85609. [Abstract]

Rasmussen A, Radfar L, Lewis D, Grundahl K, Stone DU, Kaufman CE, Rhodus NL, Segal B, Wallace DJ, Weisman MH, Venuturupalli S, Kurien BT, Lessard CJ, Sivils KL, Scofield RH. Previous diagnosis of Sjögren’s Syndrome as rheumatoid arthritis or systemic lupus erythematosus. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2016 Mar 21. pii: kew023. [Abstract] [Epub ahead of print]

Nocturne G, Tarn J, Boudaoud S, Locke J, Miceli-Richard C, Hachulla E, Dubost JJ, Bowman S, Gottenberg JE, Criswell LA, Lessard CJ, Sivils KL, Carapito R, Bahram S, Seror R, Ng WF, Mariette X. Germline variation of TNFAIP3 in primary Sjogren's syndrome-associated lymphoma. Ann Rheum Dis 2015. [Abstract] EPub

 View publications in PubMed

Arthritis and Immunology Research Program, MS 57
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
825 N.E. 13th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73104

Phone: (405) 271-2539
Fax: (405) 271-2578
E-mail: chris-lessard@omrf.org

Michelle Joachims, Ph.D.
Staff Scientist

Bhuwan Khatri, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow

Ania Stolarczyk
Senior Research Technician

Jantzen Faulkner
Research Technician

Nick Means
Graduate Student

Louise Williamson
Administrative Assistant III