Julie Zikherman

Dr. Julie Zikherman is a Professor in the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), affiliated with the Division of Rheumatology. Her research focuses on understanding B cell behavior in response to self and foreign antigens, mechanisms of immune tolerance, and autoimmune disease pathogenesis. She leads a lab employing mouse genetics, cellular immunology, and genomics to study B cell receptor signaling and regulatory pathways.

Education:

• B.A. in Chemistry, Harvard University (1996)
• M.D., Cornell University School of Medicine (2002)
• Internal Medicine Residency, Brigham and Women's Hospital (2005)
• Rheumatology Fellowship, UCSF (2008)

Research Interests: Dr. Zikherman's lab investigates how B cells regulate responses to self vs. foreign antigens, clonal composition of B cell repertoires, and mechanisms restraining self-reactive B cells from causing autoimmunity. Key projects include studying NR4A nuclear receptors' roles in immune tolerance and B cell signaling, IgM/IgD BCR isotype functions, and vaccine design using viral-sized particles. The lab uses novel reporter mice (NUR77-eGFP) to monitor B cell activation in vivo.

Grants & Funding:

• NIH R01AI165706 (2022-2027): NR4A family in T cell tolerance
• NIH R01AI155653 (2021-2026): B cell responses to particulate antigens
• NIH R01AI148487 (2020-2025): Nuclear receptors in B cell tolerance

Labs & Teams: The Zikherman Lab collaborates with immunologists, rheumatologists, and geneticists. Current projects include developing autoantibody detection methods and exploring B cell tolerance in pregnancy through glycan-mediated mechanisms.