Dietzen, Dennis J., Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Medical Director, Core Laboratory
Medical Director, Metabolic Genetics Laboratory

Core Laboratory
Metabolic Genetics Section Core Laboratory

Dr. Dietzen received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Indiana University and completed postdoctoral research and clinical chemistry training at Washington University. Previously he was a Development Chemist at DuPont Diagnostics (now a part of Siemens Healthcare) and the Director of Clinical Laboratories at the Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Dr. Dietzen is actively involved in the assessment and improvement of many clinical laboratory diagnostic tests.  He is involved in national efforts to define reference intervals for pediatric populations and continues work to improve the specificity and scope of clinical toxicology testing.  Another major focus is the development of new diagnostic profiles using tandem mass spectrometry, particularly in the area of inborn metabolic diseases. 

Dr. Dietzen's basic research interests lie in cholesterol and sphingolipid-rich domains within the plasma membrane referred to as lipid rafts. The goals of the research are to define the role that these membrane domains play in both normal and pathologic physiology.  This work has shown that tissue factor pathway inhibitor does not require the raft environment to inhibit factor VIIa/tissue factor but that lipid rafts do play a key role in maintaining the transbilayer gradient of phosphatidylserine.  We have also demonstrated that the statins (HMG CoA reductase inhibitors) may remodel membranes by depleting phosphatidylserine, blunting the capacity of the cell surface to support the initiation and propagation of the coagulation cascade. 

Dietzen, Dennis J., Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Medical Director, Core Laboratory
Medical Director, Metabolic Genetics Laboratory

Core Laboratory
Metabolic Genetics Section Core Laboratory

Dr. Dietzen received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Indiana University and completed postdoctoral research and clinical chemistry training at Washington University. Previously he was a Development Chemist at DuPont Diagnostics (now a part of Siemens Healthcare) and the Director of Clinical Laboratories at the Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Dr. Dietzen is actively involved in the assessment and improvement of many clinical laboratory diagnostic tests.  He is involved in national efforts to define reference intervals for pediatric populations and continues work to improve the specificity and scope of clinical toxicology testing.  Another major focus is the development of new diagnostic profiles using tandem mass spectrometry, particularly in the area of inborn metabolic diseases. 

Dr. Dietzen's basic research interests lie in cholesterol and sphingolipid-rich domains within the plasma membrane referred to as lipid rafts. The goals of the research are to define the role that these membrane domains play in both normal and pathologic physiology.  This work has shown that tissue factor pathway inhibitor does not require the raft environment to inhibit factor VIIa/tissue factor but that lipid rafts do play a key role in maintaining the transbilayer gradient of phosphatidylserine.  We have also demonstrated that the statins (HMG CoA reductase inhibitors) may remodel membranes by depleting phosphatidylserine, blunting the capacity of the cell surface to support the initiation and propagation of the coagulation cascade.