Alice Gottlieb, MD, PhD, a nationally recognized expert in the development of treatments for psoriasis, has been named to The National Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Disorders (I.M.I.D.) Academic Platform, a newly established academic collaboration studying a wide range of immunologic disorders. They will focus on the research, diagnosis, and treatment of I.M.I.D., a group of disorders involving the immune system that share common inflammatory pathways. These include rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, and asthma.

Gottlieb holds the William H. Conzen Chair in Clinical Pharmacology at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and is the director of the Clinical Research Center. Her research on the pathophysiology of psoriasis has led to a new understanding of the disease. She was among the first to demonstrate that psoriasis is a T cell-mediated immune disorder and her most recent work has shown that treatment with immunobiologics targeting Tumor Necrosis Factor-a (Infliximab and Etanercept) clears psoriasis clinically and histologically.

I.M.I.D. is characterized by immune disregulation that results in acute or chronic in-flammation, causing organ damage and increased morbidity and mortality. One un-derlying manifestation of this immune disregulation is the inappropriate activation of in-flammatory cytokines, such as IL 12, IL 6 or TNF, whose actions lead to pathological consequences.

"One in four patients admitted to hospitals across the country suffers from some form of an immune-mediated inflammatory condition," says Gottlieb. The group will focus on a pathophysiological concept that unifies the field of clinical immunology including immunoregulation, immunodiagnosis, immunogenetics and immunotherapy.

In addition to Gottlieb, scientists and clinicians representing 16 academic institutions have been appointed to the council, including Stanford, Harvard, Duke, Johns Hopkins and the Mayo Clinic.