Sabra Klein

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Sabra Lynn Klein
Alma materJohns Hopkins University
University of Georgia
Randolph–Macon College
SpouseDrew Maloney
Scientific career
InstitutionsJohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
ThesisBehavioral, physiological and evolutionary factors mediating sex and species differences in immune function among rodents (1998)

Sabra Klein is an American microbiologist who is a Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her research considers how sex and gender impact the immune system. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Klein investigated why men and women have different COVID-19 outcomes.[1]

Early life and education

Klein earned her bachelor's degree in psychology at Randolph–Macon College and graduated in 1992.[2] She moved to the University of Georgia for her graduate studies, where she studied the impact of prenatal stress on the immune systems of rodents.[3] She completed her doctoral research in behavioural neuroscience at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she studied the sex and species differences in rodent immune function.[2][4] Klein was a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Gregory E. Glass.[5]

Research and career

Klein investigated the mechanisms that allow rodents to carry

Norway rats infected with Seoul orthohantavirus and showed that they have high numbers of regulatory T cells.[6] By inactivating regulatory T cells and monitoring the presence of orthohantavirus in the rodents, Klein showed that hantaviridae viruses achieve persistence by exploiting these regulatory T cells.[6] This allows rodents to maintain hantaviridae infections. Her research may help us better predict how hantaviridae they can be transmitted to humans.[6][7]

Whilst she started her academic career in neuroscience, Klein became more interested in immune system function.[8] She is particularly interested in the differences between men and women's immune systems, and how they handle infectious diseases.[8][9] Klein identified that the X chromosome was encoded with several genes that control the immune response. She believes that estrogen alters the response of immune cells, encouraging it to start making proteins and start or stop an inflammatory response.[8] Whilst this stronger immune response can clear viruses faster in women, it can also cause immunopathology.[10]

It is known that hormones impact the progression of influenza, and in 2009 Klein was commissioned by the

2009 flu pandemic vaccine produced more antibodies than male mice.[13] Her findings may indicate that men need a different dose or more frequent influenza vaccination boosts to women.[13][14]

During the

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2).[15][16] It is well documented that men have worse COVID-19 outcomes to women.[17] Klein has indicated that this biological sex dependent disparity in outcomes is common to many viral infections that impact the respiratory tract.[18] Both she and Angela Rasmussen have argued that there are behavioural as well as biological reasons that men are so susceptible to COVID-19.[17][19] In 2022, she was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[20]

Selected publications

Personal life

Klein is married to Drew Maloney.[2] In 2010 the couple created the Klein-Maloney Fellowship for Women in the Sciences.[2]

References

  1. PMID 32528136
    .
  2. ^ a b c d "Randolph-Macon College Welcomes New Board of Trustees Members". Randolph-Macon College. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  3. OCLC 31199229
    .
  4. OCLC 42972419
    .
  5. ^ "Dr. Greg Glass". geog.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  6. ^ a b c d Parsons, Tim (3 October 2007). "Scientists Learn Why Rats Are Carriers of Hantavirus". Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  7. PMID 17878294
    .
  8. ^ a b c "Infectious Disease Scientist Sabra Klein Studies How Viruses Impact Men and Women". American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  9. S2CID 9859248
    .
  10. ^ "Sabra L. Klein, PhD". cmm.jhmi.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  11. ^ "Sabra Klein - Gender Summit". gender-summit.com. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  12. ^ a b Pearce, Katie (2018-11-06). "Researchers to study differences in how men, women respond to flu shots". The Hub. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  13. ^
    PMID 30455317
    .
  14. PMID 31391269
    .
  15. ^ "COVID-19 mortality twice as high for men in Italy as women". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  16. ^ "COVID-19 Proving Deadlier for Men". Global Health NOW. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  17. ^ a b Mooney, Chris. "Men are getting sicker, dying more often of covid-19, Spain data shows". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  18. ^ Lord, Debbie. "Coronavirus fact check: Are more men than women dying from COVID-19?". WFXT. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  19. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  20. ^ "MMI Professor Sabra Klein Elected as AAAS Fellow". Johns Hopkins University. January 27, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
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