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Abbe N. de Vallejo, PhD

Job Title Associate Professor, Division of Pediatric Rheumatology, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
Job Title Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Job Title Director, Flow Cytometry I Core Facility, John G. Rangos Sr. Research Center
Job Title Manager, Xrad User Facility, Rangos Research Center
Job Title Member Faculty, Cancer Immunology Program, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute
Job Title Member Faculty, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Division of Pediatric Rheumatology
One Children's Hospital Drive
4401 Penn Ave., Suite Floor 9
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
412-692-8455 Phone
412-692-5565 Fax
Email vallaj@upmc.edu

Education and Training

Medical School:

1992 University of Mississippi Medical Center, PhD in Immunology & Microbiology
 

Residency:

1996 Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, Postdoctorate in Molecular Immunology
 

Fellowship:

1998 Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, Postdoctorate in Rheumatology

Memberships

  • The Royal Society of Medicine
  • American Association of Immunologists
  • American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  • American College of Rheumatology
  • Gerontological Society of America
  • Editorial Board, Rheumatology Current Research
  • Editorial Board, Aging and Disease
 

Awards

  • Junior Faculty Travel Award, American Association of Immunologists
  • Outstanding Paper Award, Institute for Advanced Studies in Aging & Geriatric Medicine
  • Mayo Research Building Bridges Award
  • Frederik B. Bang Scholar
  • The Sigma Xi Research Award

Publications

  • Vallejo AN, Hamel Jr.DL, Mueller RG, Ives DG, Michel JJ, Boudreau RM, Newman AB. NK-Like T Cells and Plasma Cytokines, but Not Anti-Viral Serology, Define Immune Fingerprints of Resilience and Mild Disability in Exceptional Aging. PLoS ONE. 2011 Oct; 6(10):e26558.
  • Lowry, KA, Vallejo AN, Studenski SA. Successful Aging as a continuum of functional independence: Lessons from physical disability models of aging. Aging Dis. 2011; in press.
  • Kardava L, Yang Q, St Leger A, Foon K, Lentzsch S, Vallejo AN, Milcarek C, Borghesi L. The B lineage transcription factor E2A regulates apoptosis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells. Int Immunol. 2011; 23:375-384.
  • He M, Kratz LE, Michel JJ, Vallejo AN, Ferris L, Kelley RI, Hoover JJ, Jukic D, Gibson KM, Wolfe L, Ramachandran D, Zwick ME, Vockley J. Mutations in the SC4MOL gene encoding a novel methyl sterol oxidase cause psoriasiform dermatitis, microcephaly and developmental delay. J Clin Invest. 2011; 121:976-984.
  • Vallejo AN, Mueller RG, Hamel Jr DL, Way A, Dvergsten JA, Griffin P, Newman AB. Expansions of NK-like αβT cells with chronologic aging: Novel lymphocyte effectors that compensate for functional deficits of conventional NK cells and T cells. Ageing Res Rev. 2011; 10:354-361.
  • Kale S, Sachin Y, Kong L, Perkins A, Kellum JA, Newman AB, Vallejo AN, Angus DC. The effects of age on inflammatory and coagulation-fibrinolysis response in patients hospitalized for pneumonia. PloS ONE. 2010; 5:e13852.
  • Vallejo AN, Michel JJ, Bale LK, Lemster BH, Borghesi L, Conover CA. Resistance to age-dependent thymic atrophy in long-lived mice that are deficient in pregnancy-associated plasma protein A. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Jul 7;106(27):11252-7.
  • López De Padilla CM, Vallejo AN, Lacomis D, McNallan K, Reed AM. Extranodal lymphoid microstructures in inflamed muscle and disease severity of new-onset juvenile dermatomyositis. Arthritis Rheum. 2009 Apr;60(4):1160-72.
  • Lemster BH, Michel JJ, Montag DT, Paat JJ, Studenski SA, Newman AB, Vallejo AN. Induction of CD56 and TCR-independent activation of T cells with aging. J Immunol. 2008 Feb 1;180(3):1979-90.
  • Pilbeam K, Basse P, Brossay L, Vujanovic N, Gerstein R, Vallejo AN, Borghesi L. The ontogeny and fate of NK cells marked by permanent DNA rearrangements. J Immunol. 2008 Feb 1;180(3):1432-41.
  • Michel JJ, Turesson C, Lemster B, Atkins SR, Iclozan C, Bongartz T, Wasko MC, Matteson EL, Vallejo AN. CD56-expressing T cells that have features of senescence are expanded in rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2007 Jan;56(1):43-57.

    View Dr. de Vallejo's full list of publications from PubMed.

Biography Summary

Abbe N. de Vallejo, PhD, is a highly regarded researcher and educator with a funded research program. He is Associate Professor in the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, and Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Immunology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He also holds appointments as Member Faculty of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, and is director of the Flow Cytometry I Core Facility at the John G. Rangos Sr. Research Center.

Dr. de Vallejo earned a master's degree in Pathobiology at Stirling University in Scotland, U.K., and a doctoral degree in Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He undertook postdoctoral studies at the Mayo Clinic, focusing on the molecular evolutionary genetics of the MHC gene family in primates. Dr. de Vallejo remained at the Mayo Clinic to pursue clinical-oriented training in Rheumatology, which provided the groundwork for his research program focusing on the Immunobiology of Inflammatory Syndromes and Aging. He has held several fellowships throughout his career. Dr. de Vallejo's previous academic appointments included serving as Assistant Professor of Medicine and Associate Consultant in Rheumatology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.

Scientific research has defined Dr. de Vallejo's career. His recent research on immunobiology of inflammatory syndromes and aging includes projects investigating (a) mechanisms of lymphocyte senescence; (b) novel mechanisms of immune homeostasis underlying successful aging; (c) immunology of rheumatic diseases; and (d) molecular pathways linking immunity and longevity. His work includes collaborative research with other investigators on issues related to chronic inflammatory conditions of both children and adults, to formulation of immune criteria for successful aging, and the use of proteomic technology in disease diagnosis and health outcomes. Dr. de Vallejo's research interests also include mechanisms of tissue repair and remodeling, and the evolution of immunity. His research program is funded by grants from the Arthritis Foundation, the Nancy E. Taylor Foundation for Chronic Diseases, and the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Vallejo is the author and co-author of numerous articles that have been published in leading scientific journals. He was associate editor of the Journal of Immunology (2000-2005), and was a special issue editor of Aging Research Reviews (2010-2011). Beginning in 2011, he became a member of the Editorial Boards of two journals: Rheumatology Current Research and Aging and Disease. He is a reviewer for several scientific journals, and has served (and continue to serve) as member of various research advisory councils and study sections of private foundation and federal funding agencies including those of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Vallejo is fellow of The Royal Society of Medicine.

Active Research Projects / Grants

  • NIH RO1 (PI): Immunity and healthy aging 
  • NIH RO1 (Co-I): Dissection of IGF-longevity connection in a mouse model
  • NIH K12 (Core Director): Molecular basis of pediatric diseases
  • Nancy Taylor Foundation for Chronic Diseases (PI): Maladaptive CD4-negative CD8-negative T cells in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
Last Update
February 1, 2012
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Last Update
February 1, 2012
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