Research
interests
Dr. Saidman's research is focused in three main areas. The first is the detection of chimerism after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Microsatellite loci are evaluated using a DNA sequencer, and the quantitative results are used to monitor engraftment and measure relative amounts of donor vs. host hematopoietic cells in the host circulation. The data is used in studies involving immune tolerance induction as well as non-myeloablative transplantation, in collaboration with the Transplant Biology Research Center and the Bone Marrow Transplantation unit.
Her second major research interest is the study of alloantibodies in patients who have received or who will receive kidney transplants. Recipients have been monitored for donor specific antibodies post transplant, and the antibodies have been characterized and correlated with acute rejection episodes. Long-term outcomes in patients with donor specific antibody many years post-transplant are also studied. In addition, protocols to remove HLA antibody from highly sensitized patients prior to transplant are being developed. Solid phase assays for monitoring alloantibody, including those utilizing Luminex technology, have been introduced in the lab, and have greatly increased the sensitivity of antibody detection. Methods to quantitate antibody strength in these assays are being evaluated, so they can be used to monitor changes in antibody levels during desensitization or treatment for rejection. Results obtained with different antibody screening methods will be correlated with clinical outcome to determine if very low levels of antibody detected only by very sensitive techniques are clinically relevant.
Her third research focus is in the area of paired kidney exchange. Dr. Saidman played a key role in the development of the living kidney donor exchange program in New England, and continues to serve as histocompatibility expert for the program. Research in this area involves finding ways to accurately identify potential transplant recipients' HLA antibody specificities in order to better predict crossmatch results. Matching algorithms have been developed by economists at Harvard University, Boston College and the University of Pittsburgh. The algorithms have been tested in collaboration with the economists to demonstrate the benefit of an optimized matching system, and the advantage of integrating other kinds of living donation with the paired donation system has been demonstrated. The matching algorithms will continue to be evaluated and modified over time, and the effect of incorporating different priority systems into the matches are being studied. |
