Source: Interfolio F180


Kenneth Michael Pollard

Associate Professor of Molecular Medicine
Department of Molecular Medicine


 Email

Research Focus

Autoimmunity Induced by Environmental Exposure

Our research seeks to understand mechanisms of systemic autoimmunity, and the role that environment/occupational exposures play in the initiation and/or exacerbation of autoimmune diseases. Our current focus is crystalline silica exposure as this has considerable relevance to autoimmunity associated with occupations in which individual are exposed to silica dust (e.g. mining, artificial stone fabrication, sandblasting, etc). Currently we focus on three major areas of investigation: 1) Role of innate and adaptive immune responses in silica-induced autoimmunity, 2) Determining mechanisms of silica-induced inflammatory arthtitis, and 3) Use of outbred mouse strains (Diversity Outbred (DO), BXD) to identify genetic loci associated with  silicosis and silica-induced autoimmunity.


Education

Bachelor of Science (Second Class Honors, Division A) (1975) Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia

Doctor of Philosophy (1983) Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Thesis: Interaction between DNA and Anti-DNA Antibodies of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Certificate in Regulatory Affairs Essentials (2009), University of California, San Diego Extension, La Jolla, CA, USA


Professional Experience

2007-Present  Associate Professor of Molecular Medicine, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA

2001-2009 Director of NCRR Funded MEM Flow Cytometry Core, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, USA.

1997- 2006 Associate Professor, W.M. Keck Autoimmune Disease Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, U.S.A.

1992 - 1996 Assistant Member (Professor), W.M. Keck Autoimmune Disease Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, U.S.A.

1987-1991 Senior Research Associate, W.M. Keck Autoimmune Disease Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, U.S.A.

1985-1987 Research Officer, Sutton Rheumatism Research Laboratory, Royal North Shore Hospital, St. Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia.

1982-1985 Research Associate, W.M. Keck Autoimmune Disease Center, Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, La Jolla, California, U.S.A. Supervision: Eng M. Tan, M.D.

1975-1978 Scientific Officer, Sutton Rheumatism Research Laboratory, Royal North Shore Hospital, St. Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia.


Awards & Professional Activities

1971 (Australian) University Teachers’ College Scholarship – declined.

1972-1974 (Australian) Commonwealth University Scholarship.

1982-1983 Eleanor Sophia Wood Traveling Fellow of the University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

1982-1983 Research Awardee, NSW Lupus Association, Sydney, Australia.

1988-1991 Terri Gotthelf Lupus Research Institute Scholar, South Norwalk, CT, U.S.A.

1991-1996 First Independent Research Support and Transition (FIRST) Award (R29) National Institute of Allergy and Immunology, NIH, USA

2015 The Third Annual Giuseppe Molinaro Lecture, Integrated Biomedical Sciences Seminar Series, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA.


Selected Publications

Pollard, K. M.; Cauvi, D. M.; Mayeux, J. M.; Toomey, C. B.; Peiss, A. K.; Hultman, P.; Kono, D. H. Mechanisms of Environment-Induced Autoimmunity. 2021, 61, 135-157.

Mayeux, J. M.; Escalante, G. M.; Christy, J. M.; Pawar, R. D.; Kono, D. H.; Pollard, K. M. Silicosis and silica-induced autoimmunity in the diversity outbred mouse. Frontiers in Immunology 2018, 9.
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Pollard, K. M. Silica, silicosis, and autoimmunity. Frontiers in Immunology 2016, 7.
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Pollard, K. M.; Escalante, G. M.; Huang, H.; Haraldsson, K. M.; Hultman, P.; Christy, J. M.; Pawar, R. D.; Mayeux, J. M.; Gonzalez-Quintial, R.; Baccala, R.; Beutler, B.; Theofilopoulos, A. N.; Kono, D. H. Induction of systemic autoimmunity by a xenobiotic requires endosomal TLR trafficking and signaling from the late endosome and endolysosome but not type I IFN. Journal of Immunology 2017, 199, 3739-3747.
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Baccala, R.; Pollard, K.; Kono, D.; Haraldsson, M.; Lawson, B.; Koh, Y.; Du, X.; Arnold, C.; Silverman, G.; Beutler, B.; Theofilopoulos, A. Endosomal TLR signaling is required for anti-nucleic acid and rheumatoid factor autoantibodies in lupus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2009, 106, 12061-12066.
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Kono, D. H.; Balomenos, D.; Pearson, D. L.; Park, M. S.; Hildebrandt, B.; Hultman, P.; Pollard, K. M. The prototypic Th2 autoimmunity induced by mercury is dependent on IFN-gamma and not Th1/Th2 imbalance. Journal of Immunology 1998, 161, 234-240.