Ignacio Sanz

Ignacio Sanz, MD is the Mason I. Lowance Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics and Chief of the Division of Rheumatology at Emory University School of Medicine. He also directs The Lowance Center for Human Immunology and is a Georgia Research Alliance Distinguished Scholar in Human Immunology. His roles include leadership in the Cancer Immunology Research Program at Winship Cancer Institute, the Immune Tolerance Network Steering Committee, and the Autoimmunity Centers of Excellence Mechanistic Studies Committee.

Dr. Sanz earned his medical degree at University of Santander Medical School (Spain), followed by residency in internal medicine at the National Center for Medical Research (Madrid). He completed postdoctoral training in Molecular Immunology at Southwestern Medical School (Dallas) and a rheumatology fellowship at University of Texas Health Sciences Center.

His research focuses on autoimmune diseases, particularly understanding B-cell dysregulation in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Sjogren’s syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis. He investigates plasma cell biology, vaccine responses, and cancer immunotherapy. Key contributions include pioneering B-cell depletion therapies for SLE and advancing multi-chromatic flow cytometry and single-cell sequencing techniques.

Dr. Sanz leads major grants including the NIH-funded Autoimmunity Centers of Excellence Program Project on B cells in Health and Disease. He has authored over 75 publications, with recent work emphasizing SARS-CoV-2 immunology, including vaccine responses in autoimmune patients and long-COVID mechanisms.

Awards: Georgia Research Alliance Distinguished Scholar in Human Immunology.

Grants: Includes NIH-funded projects on plasma cell biology, SLE, and translational immunology. Notable grants: 2P01AI125180-06 (Plasma Cells in Health and Disease), 2U19AI110483-11 (B-cell Regulation in SLE), and 3U54CA260563-02S1 (Immune Regulation of COVID-19 in Cancer/Autoimmunity).