Lee Ann Baxter-Lowe

Lee Ann Baxter-Lowe, PhD, is a Clinical Professor of Pathology at the University of Southern California (USC). She serves as the Chair of the Histocompatibility Committee of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and facilitates the Histocompatibility Workgroup for the 2012 National Consensus Conference on Kidney Paired Donation (KPD). Her research focuses on HLA polymorphism and its role in transplantation and human disease, particularly investigating HLA antibodies in solid organs and hematopoietic stem cell transplants. She has led over 125 publications and directed a lab supporting NIH-funded clinical trials. Her work emphasizes advancing histocompatibility testing and policy development in transplantation.

Her research spans HLA typing methodologies, donor-recipient compatibility, and outcomes analysis in hematopoietic cell and organ transplantation. Key contributions include identifying permissible HLA mismatches, evaluating high-resolution typing’s impact on kidney transplants, and developing scoring systems for transplant ranking. She has contributed to multicenter studies like the Cord Blood Transplantation Study (COBLT) and serves on national/international committees advancing transplant policies.

Dr. Baxter-Lowe’s publications highlight advancements in digital PCR, cell-free DNA biomarkers, and transplant-related immune responses. Her lab has been a core facility for the NIH Immune Tolerance Network, emphasizing translational research. She has advised clinical trials in pediatric and adult patients, focusing on novel conditioning regimens and immunochemotherapy.

Her leadership roles in UNOS and other organizations reflect her dedication to policy development in transplant medicine. She has addressed disparities in donor availability for African American patients and optimized transplant outcomes through HLA typing innovations.