Christian P. Larsen, MD, PhD
Leading transplant surgeon and visionary scientist Christian P. Larsen, MD, PhD, who started practicing at Emory in 1991, was appointed chair of the Department of Surgery at Emory University School of Medicine, surgeon-in-chief of Emory University Hospital and director of surgical services for Emory Healthcare in February 2009. In addition, he is section head of surgery in The Emory Clinic, and he holds the endowed position of Joseph Brown Whitehead Professor of Surgery.
An internationally recognized leader in transplant surgery and immunology, Dr. Larsen became founding director of the Emory Transplant Center in 2001, building and directing one of the foremost research and clinical transplantation programs in the world. That year, he became the first Carlos and Marguerite Mason Professor of Surgery. He is an affiliate scientist at Yerkes National Primate Research Center. Dr. Larsen's clinical practice is focused on kidney, pancreas and islet transplantation at Emory University Hospital and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. He maintains his current role as Executive Director of the Emory Transplant Center.
Together with long-time collaborator and friend Thomas Pearson, MD, he has played a pivotal role in developing a new class of immunosuppressive drugs, the costimulation blockers. These studies have spanned 15 years, moving from mice to monkeys to humans. Poised to replace the cyclosporine class of drugs, costimulation blockers have the promise of being just as effective while avoiding the major side effects and toxicities associated with cyclosporine. Dr. Larsen's current scientific endeavors are focused on achieving immunological tolerance through the induction of mixed hematopoietic chimerism and on the application of costimulation blockers to facilitate transplantation of insulin-producing cells, islets, to treat type 1 diabetes. His team now includes more than 100 investigators, including 10 principal investigators.
Specialties
- American Board of Surgery (Board certified since 1992)
- Transplantation
- Board Certified, National Board of Medical Examiners, 1985
What makes Dr. Larsen a standout?
In 2003, he performed the first islet transplant in Georgia. In addition to maintaining this busy surgical and clinical schedule throughout his career, he has built one of the foremost transplantation immunology programs in the world.
Dr. Larsen was the first to demonstrate the migration of Dendritic cells, so-called sentinels of the immune system, from the transplanted organ to the draining lymph node or spleen, where they initiate the immune response that causes allograft rejection. In a seminal publication in Nature in 1996, he provided unequivocal evidence that blocking T lymphocyte costimulation at the time of transplantation guarantees long-term survival of organ allografts in rodents. These findings were rapidly translated by Dr. Larsen's research group to primates and later to humans, and are currently a clinically proven treatment for recipients of solid organ transplants.
His current scientific endeavors are focused on achieving immunological tolerance through the induction of mixed hematopoietic chimerism and on the application of costimulation blockers to facilitate transplantation of insulin-producing cells, islets, to treat type 1 diabetes.
Dr. Larsen's achievements are distinguished by his talent to successfully drive a discovery from the bench to the bedside using the rigor of the scientific method.
Area of Clinical Interest
Dr. Larsen is an accomplished surgeon and scientist. His clinical practice focuses on:
- islet transplantation
- kidney transplantation
- pancreatic transplantation
Research Interests
Dr. Larsen's excellence in transplantation surgery and immunology has been widely recognized. He has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the past 16 years. The recipient of a prestigious NIH MERIT award, he has directed program project grants, center awards, and multi-institutional consortia from the NIH and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
- Investigation of the fundamental mechanisms involved in the T cell response to transplant tissues, specifically the role of costimulatory pathways in T cell activation.
- Studying the mechanisms involved in immunologic tolerance to self and transplanted tissues.
- Developing approaches to allow successful transplantation of allogeneic or xenogeneic islets for the treatment of type 1 diabetes.
The Road to Emory: Education
- Medical School: Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 1984 (magna cum laude)
- General Surgery Residency: Emory University Affiliated Hospitals, Atlanta, GA 1991
- Fellowship Livingston Surgical Research Fellow, Nuffield Department of Surgery: University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, 1990
- He completed general and transplantation surgery training at Stanford University and Emory, where he was chief surgical resident and a fellow in transplantation surgery.
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Transplantation Immunology: University of Oxford, Oxford, England, 1990
Current Organizational Leadership Memberships
- American Association of Immunologists
- American College of Surgeons, Fellow (FACS)
- American Diabetes Association
- American Society for the Advancement of Science
- American Society of Transplant Surgeons
- American Society of Transplantation
- Georgia Transplant Foundation, Inc. Board of Directors
- International Pancreas and Islet Transplant Association
- The National Kidney Foundation
- The Society of Clinical Surgery
- The Transplantation Society
- The American Society for Clinical Investigation
- Chair, NIH NIAID Non-Human Primate Consortium
- Chair, Steering Committee, NIH Non-Human Primate Tolerance Network
- Mayo Clinic Scientific Advisory Board, NIH Xenotransplantation Research Consortium
- NIH Clinical Islet Transplant Consortium Steering Committee
Honors and Awards
Dr. Larsen is the recipient of national and international research awards, including:
- Emory School of Medicine Dean's Distinguished Faculty Lecture and Award, 2009
- Thomas E. Starzl Prize in Surgery and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, 2007
- The Roche Award of the American Society of Transplantation, 2001
- The Transplant Society - Roche Award for Excellence in Translational Research, Transplantation Society, 2006
- Roche Basic Science Established Investigator Award, American Society of Transplantation, 2004
- Listed Among Emory's Distinguished Faculty for 2002-2003
- Finalist, Healthcare Hero Award, Atlanta Business Chronicle, 2003
- Dean's Clinical Investigator Award, Emory University School of Medicine, 2002-2003
- Emory University Great Teacher's Lecture, 2002
- Dean's Clinical Investigator Award, Emory University School of Medicine, 1999-2000
- NIH Basic Science Award, American Society of Transplant Physicians, 1997
- Who's Who in Science and Engineering, 1992-1994
- Overseas Research Studentship, University of Oxford, 1988-1990
- Henry Goodger Scholarship, University of Oxford, 1988-1990
- British-American Research Fellowship of the American Heart Association, 1989-1990
- Acting Clinical Lecturer in Surgery, University of Oxford, 1988-1989
Major or Recent Publications
Dr. Larsen is a frequent author of high-impact journal publications, including:
A critical precursor frequency of donor-reactive CD4+ T cell help is required for CD8+ T cell-mediated CD28/CD154-independent rejection. J Immunol 180,7203-7211.
Belatacept and basiliximab diminish human antiporcine xenoreactivity and synergize to inhibit alloimmunity. Transplantation Jan 15,118-124.
CD28/CD154 blockade prevents autoimmune diabetes by inducing non-deletional tolerance following effector T cell expansion. Diabetes 57,2672-2683.
Immune responsiveness and protective immunity after transplantation. Transplant Int 21,293-303.
Immunosuppressive protocols for pig-to-human islet transplantation; lessons from pre-clinical non-human primate models. Xenotransplantation Mar 15,107-111.
Infusion of stably immature monocyte-derived dendritic cells plus CTLA4Ig modulates alloimmune reactivity in rhesus macaques. Transplantation, 84:196-206.
Measuring system experience of side-effects of immunosuppressive drugs; the modified transplant symptom occurrence and distress scale. Transplant Int 21,764-773.
Role of CD28 in fatal autoimmune disorder in scurfy mice. Blood,110:1199-1206.
Transplantation tolerance. Seminars in nephrology,27:487-497.
Viral targeting of fibroblastic reticular cells contributes to immunosuppression and persistence during chronic infection. Proceedings of the National Acad of Sci of the USA,104:15430-15435.
Personal
Dr. Larsen enjoys spending time with his family, reading and gardening.
