Stephen Persaud, MD, PhD

Stephen Persaud, MD, PhD

Instructor, Pathology & Immunology

Division

  • Laboratory & Genomic Medicine

Education

  • BS, Biological Sciences: Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (2005)
  • MD: Washington University, St. Louis, MO (2015)
  • PhD: Immunology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO (2015)
  • Residency: Clinical Pathology, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, MO (2018)

Additional Titles

  • Clinical Pathology-Physician Scientist Training Program

Board Certifications

  • Medical Licensure, Missouri Board for the Healing Arts, 2018-present
  • Diplomate, American Board of Pathology (Clinical Pathology), 2018-2028

Recognition

  • American Society of Hematology Fellow-to-Faculty Scholar Award (2023)
  • NCI Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (with John DiPersio) (2022)
  • Developmental Research Program Award, Washington University SPORE in Leukemia (2022)
  • Career Enhancement Program Award, Washington University SPORE in Leukemia (2020)
  • New Investigator Award, American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (2020)
  • Trainee Abstract Achievement Award, American Society of Hematology (2019)
  • Paul Calabresi K12 Career Development Award in Clinical Oncology (relinquished to accept SPORE CEP) (2019)
  • Outstanding Grand Rounds Presentation Award, Division of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine (2016)
  • American Association of Immunologists Travel Award (2013)

Clinical Interests

  • Hematology
  • Histocompatibility
  • Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
  • Immunotherapy

Research Interests

I am a physician-scientist devoted to the advancement of basic science for the betterment of human health. In pursuit of this, my long-term aim is to establish an independent research career focused on how the immune system recognizes self from non-self, and the ways this critical distinction impacts human disease. My current research in the laboratory of Dr. John DiPersio involves studying minimally-toxic, immunotherapeutic approaches to conditioning for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT) for the treatment of malignant and non-malignant hematologic diseases. This work is informed by studies investigating the basic mechanisms of T cell alloreactivity which underlie host-versus-graft and graft-versus-host immune responses, and how these may be modulated for therapeutic benefit in alloHSCT.

Selected Publications

Persaud SP, Ritchey JK, Kim S, Lim S, Ruminski PG, Cooper ML, Rettig MP, Choi J, DiPersio JF. Antibody-drug conjugates plus Janus kinase inhibitors enable MHC-mismatched allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. J Clin Invest. 2021 Dec 15;131(24):e145501. PMID: 34730109
Johnson DK, Magoffin W, Myers SJ, Finnell JG, Hancock JC, Orton TS, Persaud SP, Christensen KA, Weber KS. CD4 Inhibits Helper T Cell Activation at Lower Affinity Threshold for Full-Length T Cell Receptors Than Single Chain Signaling Constructs. Front Immunol. 2021 Jan 19;11:561889. PMID: 33542711
Persaud SP, Lawton T, Burnham CD, Anderson NW. Comparison of urine antigen assays for the diagnosis of Histoplasma capsulatum infection. J Appl Lab Med. 2019 Nov;4(3):370-382. PubMed PMID: 31659074. https://academic.oup.com/jalm/articleabstract/4/3/370/5636918?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Persaud SP, Duffy B, Phelan D, Mohanakumar T, Delos Santos R, Gaut JP, Liu C. Accelerated humoral renal allograft rejection due to HLA-C14 mediated allosensitization to HLA-Bw6. Hum Immunol 2017 Nov; 78: 692-698. PMID: 29024716. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0198885917305086?via%3Dihub
Jackups R Jr., Szymanski JJ, Persaud SP. Clinical decision support for hematology laboratory test utilization. Int J Lab Hematol 2017 May; 39(Supplement 1): 128-35. PMID: 28447421. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ijlh.12679
Persaud SP, Hassan A, Hassan A, Hassan T. Severe Cytomegalovirus Gastritis During Natalizumab-Mediated Immunosuppression. ACG Case Rep J 2017 Mar; 4: e43. PMID: 28331881. https://journals.lww.com/acgcr/Fulltext/2017/04000/Severe_Cytomegalovirus_Gastritis_During.43.aspx
Hong J, Persaud SP, Horvath S, Allen PM, Evavold BD, Zhu C. Force-Regulated In Situ TCR-Peptide-Bound MHC Class II Kinetics Determine Functions of CD4+ T Cells. J Immunol 2015 Oct; 195(8):3557-64. PMID: 26336148. https://www.jimmunol.org/content/195/8/3557.long
Chou C, Pinto AK, Curtis JD, Persaud SP, Cella M, Lin CC, Edelson BT, Allen PM, Colonna M, Pearce EL, Diamond MS, Egawa T. c-Myc-induced transcription factor AP4 is required for host protection mediated by CD8+ T cells. Nat Immunology. 2014 Sep; 15(9): 884-893. PMID: 25029552. https://www.nature.com/articles/ni.2943
KC W, Satpathy AT, Rapaport AS, Briseño CG, Wu X, Albring JC, Russler-Germain EV, Kretzer NM, Durai V, Persaud SP, Edelson BT, Loschko J, Cella M, Allen PM, Nussenzweig MC, Colonna M, Sleckman BP, Murphy TL, Murphy KM. L-Myc expression by dendritic cells is required for optimal T-cell priming. Nature. 2014 Mar; 507(7491): 243-247. PMID: 24509714. https://www.nature.com/articles/nature12967
Persaud SP, Parker CR, Lo WL, Weber KS, Allen PM. Intrinsic CD4+ T cell sensitivity and response to a pathogen are set and sustained by avidity for thymic and peripheral complexes of self-peptide and MHC. Nat Immunology. 2014 Mar; 15(3): 266-274. PMID: 24487322. https://www.nature.com/articles/ni.2822
Weber KS, Li QJ, Persaud SP, Campbell JD, Davis MM, Allen PM. Distinct CD4+ helper T cells involved in primary and secondary responses to infection. Proc Nat Acad Sci USA. 2012 Jun; 109(24): 9511-9516. PMID: 22645349. https://www.pnas.org/content/109/24/9511.long
Persaud SP, Donermeyer DL, Weber KS, Kranz DM, Allen PM. High-affinity T cell receptor differentiates cognate peptide-MHC and altered peptide ligands with distinct kinetics and thermodynamics. Mol Immunol. 2010 May; 47(9): 1793-1801. PMID: 20334923. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0161589010000635?via%3Dihub