Mark Anderson, M.D., Ph.D. is a Professor in the UCSF Diabetes Center and a recognized expert in the genetic underpinnings of autoimmune diseases and the control of immune tolerance. He received his doctorate in immunology in 1992 and his medical degree in 1994 from the University of Chicago. He completed a residency and Chief Residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Minnesota and went on to complete an Adult Endocrinology Fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
While at Harvard and the Joslin Diabetes Center, Dr. Anderson developed a novel genetic mouse model of a human autoimmune disorder called Autoimmune Polyglandular Syndrome Type 1 (APS1) that involves a deficiency in the Autoimmune Regulator (Aire) gene. Through his work we have come to appreciate that Aire is a major checkpoint of immune tolerance in the thymus and his lab continues to further unravel mechanisms by which this pathway operates. Dr. Anderson has won several important awards including election to The Pew Scholars Program, The American Society of Clinical Investigation, The American Association of Physicians, and The UCSF Byers Award. Mark currently holds the Robert B. Friend and Michelle M. Friend Endowed Chair in Diabetes Research and also serves as Director of UCSF Medical Scientist (MD/PhD) Training Program, Research Director of the UCSF Diabetes Center, and also as Co-founder of the UCSF ImmunoX initiative.