Assistant Professor in Pediatrics

• Pathobiology
• Rheumatology and Immunology
• Anthony R. French Research Lab

Anthony R. French received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His graduate work was with Dr. Douglas Lauffenburger studying receptor-mediated endocytosis and intracellular sorting. He completed his residency in Pediatrics at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and his fellowship in Pediatric Rheumatology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. His clinical interests include juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile dermatomyositis, vasculitis, and pediatric SLE. His research is focused on the role of natural killer (NK) cells in the early innate immune response and is motivated by the hypothesis that a clearer understanding of in vivo NK cell responses and homeostasis may lead to novel therapeutic interventions in autoimmune diseases.

Education

• B.S., University of Minnesota, 1989
• M.S., University of Illinois, 1993
• Ph.D., University of Illinois, 1995
• M.D., University of Illinois, 1996

Training

• Pediatric Residency, Mayo Clinic, 1997-2000
• Pediatric Rheumatology Fellowship, Washington University School of Medicine, 2000-2003

Licensure and Board Certification

• American Board of Pediatrics, 2000
• American Board of Pediatrics, Subspeciality board of Pediatric Rheumatology, 2004

Honors

• Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA), 1996
• Lange Med. Pub. Award for outstanding performance in Med. School, 1997
• Ross Award for excellence in Pediatrics, 1997
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Institutional Faculty Development Award, 2002-2005

Selected Publications

1. Krug A, AR French, W Barchet, J Fischer, A Dzionek, JT Pingel, S Akira, WM Yokoyama, M Colonna: TLR9-dependent recognition of murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) by interferon-producing cell and dendritic cells generates a coordinated cytokine response that activates anti-viral NK cell function Immunity 2004 21:107-119 [ pubmed ]

2. French AR, JT Pingel, M Wagner, I Bubic, L Yang, S Kim, U Koszinowski, S Jonjic, WM Yokoyama. : Escape of mutant double-stranded DNA virus from innate immune control Immunity 2004 20:747-756 [ pubmed ]

3. French AR, JT Pingel, S Kim, L Yang, WM Yokoyama: Rapid emergence of escape mutants following infection with murine cytomegalovirus in immunodeficient mice. Clin Immun 2005 115:61-69 [ pubmed ]

4. Kim S, J Poursine-Laurent, SM Truscott, L Lybarger, YJ Song, L Yang, AR French, JB Sunwoo, S Lemieux, TH Hansen, WM Yokoyama: Licensing of natural killer cells by host MHC class I Nature 2005 436:709-13 [ pubmed ]

5. French AR, H Sjolin, S Kim, R Koka, L Yang, DA Young, C Cerboni, E Tomasello, A Ma, E Vivier, K Karre, WM Yokoyama: DAP12 signaling directly augments pro-proliferative cytokine stimulation of natural killer cells during viral infection J Immunol 2006 177:4981-4990 [ pubmed ]

6. Fehniger TA, SF Cai SF, C Xuefang, AJ Bredemeyer, RM Presti, AR French, TJ Ley. Acquisition of murine NK cell cytotoxicity requires the translation of a pre-existing pool of granzyme B and perforin mRNAs Immunity 2007 26:798-811 [ pubmed ]

7. French AR, S Kim, TA Fehniger, JR Pratt, L Yang, YJ Song, MA Caliguri, WM Yokoyama. Chronic lymphocytosis of functionally immature NK cells. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2007 120:924-931. [ pubmed ]