Research Program: Immunology
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine

peter899@umn.edu
612-625-5634 — office
612-625-0661 — lab
Preferred contact method: e-mail

Dr. Peterson's clinical profile
(University of Minnesota Physicians Web site)

Dr. Peterson received his M.D. in 1990 from the University of Minnesota. He served Internal Medicine residency at the University of Colorado and performed a Rheumatology fellowship at the University of Iowa. He conducted postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Gary Koretzky at the Universities of Iowa and Pennsylvania. In 2004 he joined the Masonic Cancer Center, where he conducts research on the molecular basis of leukocyte activation.

Research Interests

The group is broadly interested in the molecular basis for autoimmune responses. In general, we take a genetic approach to the study of proteins that regulate signaling through surface receptors on leukocytes. We are currently conducting studies on animals that have been engineered to lack proteins that are important for T cell development, signaling, and adhesion (ADAP), and for neutrophil integrin signaling (PRAM-1). We utilize murine models of tumor rejection, of type I (autoimmune) diabetes, and of systemic lupus erythematosus, as well as transgenic mice that provide insight into thymocyte selection and function, for these studies. Additional research foci in the laboratory are gene expression profiling in human psoriatic arthritis and the biochemical role played by a protein phosphatase variant known to predispose to rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and diabetes.

Selected Publications

Peterson EJ, Woods ML, Dmowski SA, Wu JN, Myung PS, Liu Q-H, Pribila JT, Jordan MS, Freedman BD, Shimizu Y. and Koretzky GA. Coupling of the TCR to integrin activation by Slap-130/Fyb. Science 293:2263-2265, 2001.

Clemens G, Newbrough S, Koretzky G and Peterson EJ. PRAM-1 mediates neutrophil integrin-dependent reactive oxygen species production. Mol Cell Biol. (24):10923-10932, 2004.

Wu J, Jordan MS, Silverman MA, Koretzky GA, Peterson EJ. Adhesion- and degranulation-promoting adapter protein is required for efficient thymocyte development and selection. J Immunol. 2006;176:6681-6689.