Sabra Klein

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 coronavirus disease outcomes.[1]

Sabra Lynn Klein
Alma materJohns Hopkins University
University of Georgia
Randolph–Macon College
Spouse(s)Drew 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)

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 allows rodents to carry hantaviridae.[6] To do this she monitored the immune response of 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 World Health Organization to understand how sex, gender and pregnancy impact the outcomes of influenza infection.[11] In 2018 Klein was awarded $8 million from the National Institutes of Health to better understand how biological sex and age impact the efficacy of influenza vaccinations.[12] As part of this research, Klein created a mechanistic study into how genetic and hormonal factors impacted mouse immunity.[12] She demonstrated that biological sex impacted the efficacy of vaccinations, showing that female mice who received 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 COVID-19 pandemic, Klein became interested in the differences between how men and women responded to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2).[15][16] It is well documented that men have worse coronavirus 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 coronavirus disease 2019.[17][19]

Selected publications
  • Klein, Sabra L.; Flanagan, Katie L. (October 2016). "Sex differences in immune responses". Nature Reviews Immunology. 16 (10): 626–638. doi:10.1038/nri.2016.90. ISSN 1474-1733. PMID 27546235.
  • Klein, S.L. (2000). "The effects of hormones on sex differences in infection: from genes to behavior". Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 24 (6): 627–638. doi:10.1016/S0149-7634(00)00027-0. PMID 10940438.
  • Klein, S. L. (June 2004). "Hormonal and immunological mechanisms mediating sex differences in parasite infection". Parasite Immunology. 26 (6–7): 247–264. doi:10.1111/j.0141-9838.2004.00710.x. ISSN 0141-9838. PMID 15541029.

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. Scully, Eileen P.; Haverfield, Jenna; Ursin, Rebecca L.; Tannenbaum, Cara; Klein, Sabra L. (July 2020). "Considering how biological sex impacts immune responses and COVID-19 outcomes". Nature Reviews Immunology. 20 (7): 442–447. doi:10.1038/s41577-020-0348-8. ISSN 1474-1741.
  2. "Randolph-Macon College Welcomes New Board of Trustees Members". Randolph-Macon College. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  3. Klein, Sabra Lynn (1994). The effects of prenatal stress on immune function in rats (Thesis). OCLC 31199229.
  4. Klein, Sabra L (1998). Behavioral, physiological and evolutionary factors mediating sex and species differences in immune function among rodents. OCLC 42972419.
  5. "Dr. Greg Glass". geog.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  6. Parsons, Tim; Health, JH Bloomberg School of Public. "Scientists Learn Why Rats Are Carriers of Hantavirus". Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  7. Easterbrook, J. D.; Zink, M. C.; Klein, S. L. (2007-09-18). "Regulatory T cells enhance persistence of the zoonotic pathogen Seoul virus in its reservoir host". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 104 (39): 15502–15507. Bibcode:2007PNAS..10415502E. doi:10.1073/pnas.0707453104. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 2000529. PMID 17878294.
  8. "Infectious Disease Scientist Sabra Klein Studies How Viruses Impact Men and Women". American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  9. Klein, Sabra L.; Roberts, Craig W., eds. (2015). Sex and Gender Differences in Infection and Treatments for Infectious Diseases. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-16438-0. ISBN 978-3-319-16437-3.
  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. Nov 6, Katie Pearce / Published; 2018 (2018-11-06). "Researchers to study differences in how men, women respond to flu shots". The Hub. Retrieved 2020-03-30.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. Fink, Ashley L.; Engle, Kyrra; Ursin, Rebecca L.; Tang, Wan-Yee; Klein, Sabra L. (2018-12-04). "Biological sex affects vaccine efficacy and protection against influenza in mice". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 115 (49): 12477–12482. doi:10.1073/pnas.1805268115. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 6298067. PMID 30455317.
  14. Dhakal, Santosh; Klein, Sabra L. (2019-11-01). "Host Factors Impact Vaccine Efficacy: Implications for Seasonal and Universal Influenza Vaccine Programs". Journal of Virology. 93 (21). doi:10.1128/JVI.00797-19. ISSN 0022-538X. PMC 6803252. 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. Mooney, Chris. "Men are getting sicker, dying more often of covid-19, Spain data shows". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  18. Desk, Debbie Lord, Cox Media Group National Content. "Coronavirus fact check: Are more men than women dying from COVID-19?". WFXT. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  19. Rabin, Roni Caryn (2020-03-20). "In Italy, Coronavirus Takes a Higher Toll on Men". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
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