Sergio A. Jimenez, MD
Professor
Co-Director, Jefferson Institute of Molecular Medicine
Director, Division of Connective Tissue Diseases
Director, The Scleroderma Center
Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Secondary Appointment)
Contact
233 South Tenth Street
Bluemle Life Sciences Building, Room 509
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-503-5042
215-923-4649 fax
Sergio A. Jimenez, MD
Professor
Co-Director, Jefferson Institute of Molecular Medicine
Director, Division of Connective Tissue Diseases
Director, The Scleroderma Center
Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Secondary Appointment)
Education
Medical School
MD Magna Cum Laude, National University of San Marcos, School of Medicine, Lima, Peru - 1964
MS Honoris Cause, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA - 1984
Residency
Mayo Medical Center, Rochester MN
Philadelphia General Hospital
Fellowship
Hospital of University of Pennsylvania (HUP)
Most Recent Peer-Reviewed Publications
- COL1A1 proximal promoter topology regulates its transcriptional response to transforming growth factor β
- Probable role of exosomes in the extension of fibrotic alterations from affected to normal cells in systemic sclerosis
- Aptamer proteomics of serum exosomes from patients with Primary Raynaud’s and patients with Raynaud’s at risk of evolving into Systemic Sclerosis
- Treatment of Severe Swallowing Dysfunction in Systemic Sclerosis with IVIG: Role of Antimuscarinic Antibodies
- Serine/threonine kinase inhibition as antifibrotic therapy: transforming growth factor-β and Rho kinase inhibitors
Board Certification
Internal Medicine
Hospital Appointment
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Expertise & Research Interests
Dr. Jimenez's research activities have focused on the application of biochemical, molecular biological, and genetic approaches to the study of Scleroderma, fibrotic disorders, and Osteoarthritis. His major contributions have been the identification of mechanisms of cytokine regulation of collagen gene expression and of the interactions between inflammatory cells and fibroblasts, the study of the role of transforming growth factor in tissue fibrosis, the identification of cartilage gene mutations in Osteoarthritis, and the demonstration of microchimeric fetal cells in affected tissues from Scleroderma patients supporting the hypothesis that fetal cell transfer across the placenta during pregnancy may cause the disease.
The goals of Dr. Jimenez's current research interests are to unravel the early events responsible for the initiation of the fibrotic process in systemic sclerosis, focusing on the role of two novel proteins, allograft inflammatory factor-1 and caveolin-1, and to study the role of macrophages as initiators of this process through their interactions with environmental or infectious agents.